Girl of three and unborn brother killed by one-armed lorry driver
A ONE- armed lorry driver ploughed into a car, killing a three-yearold girl and her unborn brother, and seriously injuring their mother.
Thomas Hunter, 59, was said to have been distracted when he rammed his articulated truck into the back of the car in which pregnant Collette Wiggin and daughter Isla were travelling, a court heard.
Isla suffered serious brain injuries in the crash in Oxford last August and died two days later at the city’s John Radcliffe Hospital. Mrs Wiggin, 31, a chartered accountant, suffered a broken neck and lost her unborn son, whom the family had already named Harry at the suggestion of Isla.
Mr and Mrs Wiggin were at Oxford Crown Court as Hunter, of Mansfield, Notts, pleaded guilty to causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving. He appeared in the dock wearing a prosthetic left arm with a hook.
Five other cars were involved and a further 13 people injured in the pile-up on the A34 at Hinksey, Oxford, the court heard. Mrs Wiggin’s car was in a queue of ‘slow-moving or stationary traffic’ when it was struck from behind by the lorry, an inquest into Isla’s death had previously heard.
Prosecutor Michael Roques told the court that Hunter must have been distracted to have missed the clear queue of traffic. He added that the death of Mrs Wiggin’s unborn son, and Mr Hunter crashing into the other vehicles aggravated the offence in respect of sentence.
Isla’s parents, from Fleet, Hampshire, paid tribute to their daughter and unborn child in a statement.
‘Isla was as perfect a daughter as you could ever wish for,’ they said. ‘Beautiful and witty, yet cheeky and mischievous, she was a character that you couldn’t help but love with all your heart.’
She and her mummy were like two peas in a pod who did everything together.’ They added that Isla was ‘so excited at the prospect’ of a baby brother and ‘her loving nature would have made her an amazing big sister’.
‘We are so sorry that we didn’t get the chance to meet him properly and get to know him. Not a day will go by where we won’t think of them and all the happy memories that we have shared.’
Defending Mr Hunter, Alexander Stein said the defendant was of previous good character. He added: ‘He knows exactly what’s going to happen.’
Judge Zoe Smith granted him bail but disqualified him from driving. He will be sentenced at the same court on July 17.