Driver jailed for head-on crash death near Warminster

A driver who was on the wrong side of the road when she killed another motorist in a head-on crash has been jailed for 26 months.

Lucy Beer, 28, died on the A36 near Warminster, Wiltshire, in January 2019.

The defendant, Lee Whitwell, 48, from Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, wrongly thought she was on a dual carriageway, Winchester Crown Court heard.

She was previously found guilty by a jury of causing death by dangerous driving.

Mrs Whitwell suffered minor injuries in the crash, which happened near Heytesbury roundabout at about 21:00 GMT on 27 January.

She drove her Volkswagen Touran in an oncoming lane for about 20 seconds before colliding with Ms Beer's Kia Picanto, the court heard.

Ms Beer, from Warminster, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Barry McElduff, defending, said the defendant, who has young children, was a "law-abiding citizen who made a terrible mistake".

Judge Andrew Barnett said: "This is one of the saddest cases I have had the misfortune to try."

He said the road had a "somewhat confusing orientation", alternating between one and two eastbound lanes.

The judge told the defendant: "You made a grave and somewhat prolonged error of judgement.

"Quite plainly you thought you were in the right driving on that side of the road and you were not."

The judge said Ms Beer's mother had said her death had left a "massive hole" in her life.

He ordered that Mrs Barnett would be banned from driving for five years after her release from prison.

Some of her supporters in the public gallery wept after the sentence was passed.