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23
May
Boroughbridge woman who 'oversteered' and crashed into driver sentenced
A woman was sentenced for causing serious injury by careless driving at Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday (May 22).
Kim Butler, of Church View in Kirkby Hill, near Boroughbridge, admitted the offence on April 3.
She had previously pleaded not guilty and a trial date was set, but Butler later changed her plea.
Mel Ibbotson, prosecuting, told the court the named victim was travelling northbound on the A61 towards Ripon on May 22, 2024.
He was driving on a section of the road known locally as Daffodil Bends.
The court heard the man had left Markington, a village near Ripon, at around 11am that day and was headed for Leeming Bar.
The road conditions were described as very wet due to heavy rainfall at the time.
Ms Ibbotson said the man recalls driving past The Harrogate Garden Centre, which which was on his left, but the next thing he remembers is his airbags being deployed after a collision.
She added:
The man crawled across to open the passenger door and lay on the grass verge. A woman came to sit with him before an ambulance took him to hospital.
The man remained in hospital until that evening. He suffered a minor spinal fracture, an injury to a muscle in his thigh and bruising.
The court heard a GP also found the man suffered from a type of vertigo in the aftermath.
He could not drive for two months and could not work for three months after the collision.
Ms Ibbotson told the court an unnamed witness said they were travelling southbound on the road at the time.
The witness also recalled the roads being very wet that day.
They saw Butler driving on the road, but she appeared to pull into the entrance of a farm and turn her car around, the court heard.
Ms Ibbotson added:
The witness said the defendant’s car caught up with them quite quickly, and that their attention was drawn to the car for this reason.
Butler’s car then swung and hit the victim’s vehicle.
The 38-year-old defendant told police she had been cleaning at a client’s house that day and thought she had left a set of keys at the house, the court heard.
She decided to turn around for this reason, but told officers she was travelling at 45mph at the time of the incident.
“The next thing she knew she was trying to get out of the car and thought her arms were broken”, Ms Ibbotson said.
A report prepared by an expert ahead of the trial, which did not go ahead, found Butler had oversteered on the bend.
Dashcam footage of the collision was played to the magistrates in court.
Butler is of previous good character.
Defendant also suffered ‘significant injury’
Chris McGrogan, defending, told the court the situation was not only traumatic for the victim, but also for Butler.
He cited the pre-sentence report, but it was not read aloud in court.
Mr McGrogan said Butler had also suffered a “significant injury”, namely a broken femur.
She had to have a metal road inserted following the collision, which causes her a lot of pain and requires her to have regular physiotherapy.
He also disputed the prosecution’s argument and told the magistrates Butler was not cleaning a client’s house that day. In fact, she had been at a friend’s house and does not work, Mr McGrogan said.
The court heard:
What Ms Butler appears to have done is lift her foot off the accelerator when going into the bend and caused what is called lift-off oversteer. This brings the back end of the car round.
She has pleaded guilty on the basis she went into the bend too quickly for the weather conditions. She accepts responsibility.
Butler, who was visibly upset during the hearing, had been driving for four years at the time of the offence.
Sentence
Butler was banned from driving for 12 months and handed a 12-month community order.
She is required to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and pay £199 to the court.
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