A 32-year-old woman has admitted causing the death of scooter enthusiast Richard Harper by careless driving when she ran him over after he fell from his bike.

Zdenka Samkova, a Czech national, pleaded guilty to the offence on the day she was to stand trial at Bradford Crown Court.

Samkova, of Buttershaw Drive, Bradford, denied a second offence of causing death while driving uninsured.

Mr Harper, 45, a father of four, of Tyersal Terrace, Tyersal, died in Bradford Royal Infirmary after the accident on Rooley Lane, Bierley, Bradford, at about 10pm on December 10, 2009.

Samkova was driving a Volkswagen Passat when she was in collision with Mr Harper.

Judge Jonathan Rose told the court yesterday: “It is a truly tragic and exceptional case.”

He adjourned sentence until May 6 for the preparation of a report from the probation service.

Samkova, who needed an interpreter for the court hearing, was allowed to remain on unconditional bail.

Jonathan Sharp, for the Crown, told the court that her guilty plea to the first charge was acceptable to the prosecution.

Judge Rose told Samkova: “You have pleaded guilty to causing the death of Richard Harper by careless driving. That you have pleaded guilty, albeit at a late stage, is to your credit because you have not sought through the trial process to avoid your responsibilities.”

The judge banned Samkova from driving until the sentencing hearing. “If you drive a motor vehicle from now, that will be a separate offence,” he said.

Mr Harper, a motor scooter enthusiast, was returning home from his job as a quality controller at Borg Warner Turbo Systems, on Bradford’s Euroway Estate, when he was fatally injured.

Samkova, who came to the UK in 2005, was driving to her employment as a factory production worker.

In February last year, more than 250 people attended a commemorative event at Wibsey Working Men’s Club to pay tribute to Mr Harper, a popular member of Bradford St George’s Scooter Club.