Kentish Express Ashford & District
Death crash driver told to prepare herself for jail
A motorist has been banned from driving and warned to expect to go to prison after a motorcyclist was killed in an accident at Chilham.
Therese Langley, 57, had pleaded guilty to causing the death by dangerous driving of father-of-two Lee Saunders, 48, on the A252 near the village in April last year.
Langley, of Birling Road, Snodland also admitted causing serious injury to Mr Saunders’ wife Tina, 43, who was riding as a pillion passenger.
Prosecutor Paul Valder told Canterbury Crown Court that the accident happened as Langley’s red Vauxhall Zafira crossed the road after stopping by the side of the A252.
He said: “What she did was perform a U-turn from a lay-by across solid and dotted white lines, which was a brief but obvious danger.”
The prosecutor said under current sentencing guidelines the starting point was three years in jail with a range of between two to five years.
Sentence was postponed until February for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
Def e nc e b a r r i s t e r Kate Chidgey said Langley, who was granted bail until the next hearing, was suffering from anxiety and depression.
Judge Heather Norton gave her an interim driving ban adding: “A custodial sentence is virtually inevitable in this case and you should prepare yourself for that eventuality.”
Emergency crews, including the air ambulance, had attended the scene of the trag- edy in April and the road was closed for several hours.
Mr Saunders’ friend, Sarah Wilson, who was part of the group ride that ended so tragically, posted a short tribute on the Kent Bikers Facebook page.
She said: “I passed my Mod 2 [licence] on Wednesday and this was my first group ride to celebrate. It was an amazing day but one of us didn’t go home.”