Sponsored by
Jail for crash death driver
Three years for mum who killed best friend in accident
A YOUNG mum who 'nodded off' at the wheel of her car, causing a crash that killed her best friend, has been jailed for three years.
Amy Simms, 22, was driving a group of friends home from an all-night rave on Easter Sunday last year when the accident, which killed 18-year-old Lizzie Pitcher and injured five other people, took place.
Lizzie Pitcher, who had an eight-month-old son, died at the scene of the crash on the A603 on April 12, 2009.
Her partner James O'Brien, who is the father of her little boy, and Simms' cousin Tom Bailey received 'life changing' injuries that left them currently disabled, said prosecutor Natalie Carter.
She told the court that Simms, who had passed her test two months before, agreed to drive her friends to the rave, setting off at around 10.30pm after an afternoon sleep.
They arrived at the rave at 4am, where they stayed until around 8am.
She had not been drinking, but at 10.30am, as she was driving towards Biggleswade, she apparently nodded off.
Her boyfriend in the passenger seat realised and grabbed the wheel, but when she came to she steered too far the other way, causing the car to fishtail across the road into the path of an oncoming vehicle.
Mrs Carter said the collision caused the Renault Clio to flip into the air and land on its side.
She said: "The prosecution case is that she was not in a position to drive having had insufficient sleep."
For the full story see the Biggleswade Chronicle of Friday, March 5.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Biggleswade
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
