Driver Michelle Ashley spared prison over fatal crash which killed her neighbour
A 4X4 DRIVER who fatally hit her pensioner neighbour while answering her mobile phone has been spared a jail sentence.
On the first day of the national lockdown last year Michelle Ashley’s vehicle struck Sheila Watson (74) as she walked out from behind an ice cream van on Haycock Close in Totton.
Southampton Crown Court heard that at the time the car's sun visor partially obscured Ashley's vision.
The 46-year-old had been on her mobile phone answering a call linked to a charity she had set up to assist people in isolation because of the Covid pandemic.
Among those Ashley had helped were the victim and her ailing husband, who were her neighbours.
In court one of Mrs Watson’s three daughters paid tribute to her as a “loving, caring mother and grandmother”.
“She has been denied the enjoyment of watching her grandchildren grow up,” she said.
“What happened that day was a tragic accident but we suspect one that could have been avoided by careful driving and paying full attention to the road.
“We will live through the pain of losing her but our lives will never be the same,” she added.
The court heard how Ashley, who had lived at Haydock Close for 20 years, turned into the road at the wheel of a Volkswagen Tiguan at 3.30pm on 23rd March last year.
Prosecutor Mary Aspinall-Miles said Mrs Watson, who had just bought an ice cream, stepped out from behind the van parked on the corner.
Mrs Watson was struck a “glancing blow” by the car which was estimated to have been travelling at around 15mph.
It knocked Mrs Watson sideways and she hit her head before Ashley’s vehicle ran over the victim.
Witnesses included children and parents queueing for an ice cream, and a number of men tried unsuccessfully to lift the vehicle off the victim.
Mrs Watson was rushed to hospital but suffered “unsurvivable injuries”. Her life support machine was turned off three days later.
The prosecutor said roadside tests proved Ashley had no drink or drugs in her system at the time, and she also passed an eye test.
Police found three mobile phones in her car: a personal iPhone, a Samsung work phone and a third, a Huawei.
At the time of the incident the personal phone was connected to the car’s hands-free system, but the Huawei device was not.
The Huawei was linked to a new charity organisation Ashley had set up to help people during the pandemic, and analysis of it showed it rang at about 3.30pm, Mrs Aspinall-Miles said.
The man who made the call, Paul Morris, told police a woman had answered it before he then heard “chaotic” sounds and the line went dead.
Analysis of the phone suggested the call was answered and lasted for “six seconds”, the prosecutor added.
In police interview Ashley admitted it had rung but could not recall answering.
“The prosecution cannot demonstrate Ashley was on the phone at the point of impact,” Ms Aspinall-Miles said. “But what I can say is that she was distracted by it.”
Ashley, who gave a Romsey address to the court, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a charge of causing death by careless driving.
Her barrister said: “She cannot find the words to describe quite how sorry she is about this awful incident. She was a friend and neighbour to Mrs Watson.
“She cannot take back what happened. She would give anything to. She will live with this regret forever.”
Ashley was of previous good character and with a clean driving record and on that afternoon “several different factors” had combined to cause the incident, she said.
They included the position the ice cream van was parked, the sun visor obscuring Ashley’s vision, the sun partially going into her eyes and Mrs Watson stepping out from behind the van and giving her little chance to react.
It was “ironic” the phone call to a charity Ashley was overseeing to help “aged and vulnerable” people had been the cause of the distraction, the defence barrister added.
Ashley may have “taken on too much” at the time of the offending, her barrister said. The charity had been a busy operation while she also worked full time as a property manager.
She was also looking after her teenage daughter – who has health difficulties and relies on her – and had been suffering from depression and anxiety.
Since the incident she has continued helping community and charity organisations, undergone counselling and has had “suicidal” thoughts, the barrister continued.
She urged Judge Christopher Parker to follow a probation recommendation suspend the sentence and pointed to a raft of positive character references.
Judge Parker decided to hand Ashley an 18-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work. She was also banned from driving for 15 months.
Judge Parker ruled Ashley had answered the telephone during the incident which had caused her to “lose focus” on the road.
“You did not initiate that telephone call, but you did answer it,” he said.
