Wheelchair-bound driver, 96, becomes oldest woman in Britain to be convicted for dangerous driving
by Will Conroy · LBCBy Will Conroy
A 96-year-old has been given an 18-month suspended prison sentence after admitting to causing the death of a woman by dangerous driving.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
June Mills, from Ainsdale on Merseyside was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.
She pleaded guilty to causing the death of Brenda Joyce, 76, in Formby in August last year after hitting the woman and another pedestrian when her car mounted the pavement.
Mills is reportedly the oldest person in the UK to be convicted of death by dangerous driving.
She mounted the kerb because she applied too much accelerator while driving her Vauxhall Corsa, the court heard last month.
Mills accepted her driving was below the normal standard.
Sentencing her, Judge Simon Medland KC said: "On any view and from every angle this case is an utter tragedy.
"Mrs Joyce died, Mrs Ensor was injured, you have lost your good character and are in the dock of Liverpool Crown Court."
Defending Mills, Tom Gent told the court: "The accelerator pedal fell down beneath her foot, she panicked and failed to react to that."
"This is plainly a dreadfully sad case. Mrs Mills, the defendant, is extremely sorry for what happened.
"The consequences will haunt her forever. She feels great shame and guilt."
Mr Gent then told the court Mills surrendered her driving licence following the crash, adding she was previously involved in charity work for victims of crime and young offenders, and "she has housed, and continues to house, Ukrainian refugees".
He added her mobility had worsened since the collision, noting she was only able to walk a few paces and would be unlikely to be fit to carry out unpaid work.
Ms Joyce was pronounced dead at the scene on Elbow Lane in Formby.
The other pedestrian hit by Mills - an 80-year-old woman - suffered slight injuries.