'It was an accident': E-scooter shot out and broke young girl's leg

Left, CCTV released by police, and right, Jonathan Lee Hardy leaving court after an earlier appearance.

Jonathon Hardy was wheeling an E-scooter through the Cardiff shopping centre in November last year when it suddenly shot out of his hands, lurched forward and accelerated head-on into a four-year-old girl, slamming into her and breaking two bones in her leg.

He waited around for only a short time before he slowed walked away with his scooter, hopped on and rode off, CCTV shows.

Hardy, 37, says the impact with the young child was an accident, claiming he thought the electronic scooter was off as he walked it outside towards Main Road about 10am on November 16.

He said it was when he went to switch hands that he accidentally grabbed the accelerator and lost control of the E-scooter - an increasingly popular vehicle despite them being banned on NSW public roads and footpaths - and it took off at speed and collided with the child just inside the main doors of the shopping centre.

Hardy has pleaded guilty to riding an electronic scooter on a footpath relating to his hasty retreat in the aftermath of the impact, but has pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm by negligent act over the crash.

He faced a hearing in Belmont Local Court on Thursday, during which his solicitor Georgina Price argued the child's injuries did not rise to the level of grievous bodily harm and Hardy's conduct did not amount to negligence.

Ms Price said it was a "very unfortunate accident", but the question was whether Hardy could be held criminally liable.

"When you view the CCTV it is clear that what has occurred is an accident," Ms Price said. "And the issue is how the accidental nature of the conduct fits in with the necessary mental elements of the charge."

Ms Price argued Hardy had the "genuine belief" that the scooter was off and had no reason to believe that switching hands could cause it to accelerate. She said while he had voluntarily brought the scooter into the shopping centre, which was against management rules, there was a real question about whether it was a "voluntary act" that caused the scooter to accelerate into the child.

But the prosecution said the CCTV showed the light on the e-scooter illuminate and Hardy had clearly turned it on while controlling it with one hand before he grabbed the accelerator and lost control.

Magistrate Stephen Olischlager watched CCTV footage showing three angles of the impact, heard an extract of Hardy's police interview as well as listening to a medical expert give evidence about the seriousness of the child's injuries before adjourning for a week to deliver judgment.

Hardy remains on bail and will learn his fate on May 23.