Novice driver spared jail over death crash
A teenage motorist who caused a head-on crash that killed a Staffordshire mother-of-one only 10 weeks after he had passed his driving test was spared custody when a judge heard it was a miracle he survived.
Susan Sharp, who was on her way to work, died almost instantly when a Fiat driven by Joshua Denning crossed onto the wrong side of the A51 near Stone and hit her Citroen car.
The cause of his careless driving remains a mystery, Stafford Crown Court heard yesterday. Denning, 18 at the time of the accident, told police the last thing he could remember was pulling away from the kerb.
Mrs Sharp, who was 48 and lived in Salt, near Stafford, left a husband and a daughter now aged nine. The couple had been married for 10 years.
Her husband Daryl, speaking at the family's home, said: "I have just got to move on. I'm glad it's over. I have got to get on and do the best for my daughter – it's what my wife would have wanted."
Denning, now 19, of Mill Lane, Standon, near Eccleshall, admitted causing death by careless driving. He was sentenced to 24 weeks detention suspended for a year with 150 hours of unpaid community work. He was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to pay £500 costs.
Judge Michael Cullum told him: "Nothing I can do can affect the loss Mrs Sharp's family feel by her untimely death. She was a much-loved mother, wife and daughter.
"You didn't set out that day to hurt anybody, you are decent and honest. You made one mistake and you cannot now remember what it was and you have been punishing yourself for it. You have suffered physically and mentally as a result of this accident and it is a miracle that you survived."
The accident happened at around 7.15am on November 24 last year on the A51 near Aston Marina. Another driver, Peter Overton, saw the Fiat drift across the road into the path of the oncoming car.
Mr Nick Burn, prosecuting, said Mrs Sharp suffered such severe injuries that she never regained consciousness."
Miss Sarah Buckingham, defending, said: "Each and every day my client wakes up and thinks of Mrs Sharp and her family."
She said Denning, an apprentice with a local firm, had suffered serious pelvic injuries and it was feared he might have to have part of his leg amputated. He used to be a keen rugby player, but he will never play again and now coaches the sport.
