French driver on wrong side of road causes crash

A French woman caused a head-on car crash due to confusion over driving on the left, leaving five people seriously injured, a court heard.

Maria Elkayam, 65, drove on the wrong side of the busy road for about 300 yards before colliding with a BMW on the A303 on the Devonsomerset border. Exeter magistrates’ court heard she was looking at her sat-nav when the incident took place last November. Her lawyer, Neil Millard, said: “She saw the turn right sign on her sat-nav and moved into what she thought was the right lane to turn in that direction.” She was banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay fines totalling £415.