Wife prosecuted for head-on crash which killed husband

3:24pm Monday 25th August 2008

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A wife from Thornton Cleveleys was taken to court for the head on crash which killed her husband.

Janet Miller, 59, of Meadows Avenue, who was driving when their Ford Mondeo crashed head-on into a 4x4 vehicle on the A59, was prosecuted for driving without due care and attention.

She pleaded guilty and was given a conditional discharge for three years and banned from driving for 12 months.

Blackburn magistrates heard the decision to prosecute had been taken after ‘careful deliberation’ by senior Crown Prosecution Service officers.

And District Judge Peter Ward said that while it was a “tragic situation” he thought they were right to pursue the case.

The court heard that Mrs Miller and her husband Leonard, had been driving along the A59 at Clayton-le-Dale on their way home from a day out in Skipton.

After pulling away from the traffic lights at Ribchester Road Mrs Miller suddenly drove into the oncoming lane into the path of an oncoming 4 x 4.

Her husband died in the crash and a young girl in the other vehicle suffered a broken arm.

The driver of the 4 x 4, who had his wife and two children in the vehicle with him, said the other car came straight into his path and there was nowhere he could go to avoid a collision.

In a statement read to the court Mrs Miller said she could remember nothing of the incident, except seeing a black vehicle in front of her.

She said her husband of 37 years, who was in the back seat, was not a well man and was not expected to live for long.

“Nevertheless I lost my husband and best friend and my daughter lost her father who doted on her,” said Mrs Miller.

Mr Ward said the real calamity for Mrs Miller was the death of her husband and whatever sentence he imposed would not have much meaning.

After the crash in April, Mr Miller was described as a devoted family man who would be sadly missed by all.