A mum was driving her kids to Flamingo Land when she ran a red light and ploughed into an Audi causing the car to flip and driver to fear she would die.
Susan Blundell caused the crash at Switch Island and seriously injured another motorist, leaving her fearing she was going to die. It came after the call centre worker had failed to notice the traffic signal, having been distracted by her sat nav.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Tuesday, that the 43-year-old was driving her two children, her partner and his child to the Yorkshire theme park in her white Vauxhall Mokka when she flouted a red light and crashed into two other cars which were turning right onto Broom's Cross Road from Dunnings Bridge Road. The signal had been red for seven seconds at the moment Blundell, of Newfield Close in Thornton, illegally passed through the major junction at around 3.45pm on September 12 last year.
Bernice Campbell, prosecuting, described how Amanda Griffiths' blue Audi Q4 - which had come off the M58 and was travelling towards Formby from St Helens - was caused to roll over twice before crashing into railings and a traffic light as a result of the impact, eventually coming to rest on its wheels. She described seeing a "white flash coming towards her from the corner of her eye" and "wincing" before "everything went black" and she heard the sound of crunching metal.
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Her head was "dripping" with blood, and Ms Griffiths recalled putting her hand to head in the immediate aftermath and feeling a "squishy mush". She managed to get out of her car and onto the grass verge, despite still recovering from a broken back suffered in January 2021, and was then rushed to Aintree Hospital in an ambulance.
A wound to her head required 13 stitches with her injuries also including whiplash, a cut on her right forearm and bruising to her chest and upper right arm. Ms Griffiths had to have her hair shaved off in order to undergo treatment and was forced to wear headscarves for weeks afterwards.
A statement read out to the court on her behalf outlined how her brother Martin had been killed in a car crash while working in Africa in 1980, aged only 21. He had been a passenger in a vehicle which was struck and rolled over in "very similar circumstances".
Ms Griffiths said the accident had led to her suffering from weeks of nightmares and "not very nice" dreams about her older sibling, adding: "I have always struggled to come to terms with his loss. I miss him still.
"From the moment I was hit by the car, I believed I was about to die. It momentarily went black, and my thoughts were with my brother.
"Was that what he felt too? I have been unable to shake these thoughts out of my system.
"It took me a very long time to bury that grief, and here I am reliving it all again. This accident has opened up old wounds I thought were long since buried."
Ms Griffiths also alleged that Blundell had posted disparaging comments online on an ECHO article concerning the crash the same night, claiming that the light had been green for her and accusing the car she had hit of speeding. The full-time carer to her 89-year-old father-in-law had to use £15,000 in her saving to buy a new car.
Her statement concluded: "You put several lives at risk that day, including your own children. This is downright inconsiderate and reprehensible."
Lee Jewitt, who was driving a black BMW Z4 also struck by the uninsured defendant's car, suffered a minor injury to his hand. All three vehicles were written off as a result of the collision, which was captured on CCTV footage.
Blundell, who has no previous convictions, was seen wiping tears away with a tissue during the hearing. Jim Smith, defending, told the court that his client "had only been a driver for three weeks" and was "relatively inexperienced" at the time.
He added that, unbeknown to her, her insurance had cancelled by her provider a few months earlier after missed payments. While she has since lost her job in a Barclays call centre, she is hoping to resume part-time work as a carer - but has lost her home as her landlord is selling the property.
Mr Smith said: "She was someone who was going through life events since the recent deaths of her mother and father and trying to hold down her position at Barclays. She is a single parent to two young children.
"She believed the lights had turned green. She was looking at other lights which appeared green.
"She was not confident about which lane she was supposed to be in. She was going away for respite, going to Flamingo Land with her partner and children.
"She was looking at the sat nav, which seemed to be giving her the incorrect lane to be in. She is deeply sorry for the pain and suffering she has caused.
"She momentarily lost concentration. She is genuinely remorseful and sorry for her actions."
Blundell admitted causing serious injury by careless driving and driving without insurance. She clutched her heart in the dock as she was told she would not be going to jail, instead being handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 15 days.
A 12-month driving ban was also imposed. Sentencing, Recorder Nicola Daley said: "You were using your satellite navigation system and must have been distracted by that.
"Despite the fact of the lights having been on red for some seven seconds and cars being stationary in other lanes, you failed to notice. She has been significantly affected, financially and psychologically, and she is justifiably angry.
"You are properly described as a woman of previous good character. Friends speak of you being loyal, reliable, caring and honest.
"You do take full responsilibilty. You have clearly expressed substantial regret and remorse.
"You must have been looking at your sat nav and not paying attention to the road. This was an entirely avoidable distraction which resulted in severe physical and psychological harm to Ms Griffiths and harm to others, including your own children.
"This is a serious case of its type, falling just short of dangerous driving. In the immediate aftermath of the accident, I note both at the scene and afterwards online you were wrongly seeking to blame others.
"Set against that, you have no previous convictions. I accept you are genuinely remorseful and you continue to suffer with your own mental health."
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