£90 fine for driver as Walsall crash puts nurse in wheelchair

Amanda Chambers admitted careless driving when she appeared before magistrates in Walsall.

Victim Susan Moseley, of ?Burntwood, had been returning from giving a lift home to friends following a New Year's Eve celebration when her car was struck by Chambers' Audi TT. She fractured her back, all her ribs and both ankles and is still in hospital.

The accident happened five days before the mental health nurse's 50th birthday.

Walsall magistrates said their sentencing powers were restricted by the charge. The road safety charity Brake today called for a change in the law, saying Chambers should have been charged with dangerous driving.

The collision happened in Lichfield Road, Pelsall, at the junction of Highcroft, at 12.45am on New Year's Day.

Chambers' car strayed on to the wrong side of the road as she turned the corner and hit Miss Moseley's oncoming Renault Clio.

Mrs Maggie Meakin, prosecuting, said 40-year-old Chambers, of Harpur Road, Walsall, was also badly hurt and, as a result, doctors were unable to obtain blood or urine samples for an alcohol test. She still wears a brace and is unable to work, the court heard. She could not explain what had happened but was 'extremely remorseful', her lawyer said.

Chambers was fined £90 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge. She was banned from driving for 12 months.

After the case, the victim's civil partner Susan Dunning told how the couple had been hosting a small party at their home where Mrs Moseley had drank only bitter lemon because she was driving some friends home.

See today's Express & Star for full story