Woman said 5 tragic last words to childhood sweetheart as she died on roadside
A woman said five heartbreaking final words to her childhood sweetheart as she died on the side of the road, a court heard.
Christine Jones, 68, was in the passenger seat of a car when it was struck by another vehicle in Thornton Hough, Merseyside. Despite suffering injuries, the great-grandmother was able to reach into her handbag and retrieve her mobile in order to call her husband of nearly 50 years.
He then rushed to the scene and kissed and held hands with his wife as she told him: "Please don't let me die." Ian Ashworth, an armed force veteran whose car veered into their path and caused the head-on smash, has been spared an immediate prison sentence over the accident.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this week that 81-year-old Bryn Jones was driving his Ford Fiesta along the two-lane carriageway in the direction of Thornton Hough at around 9pm on August 14, 2023 with his stepdaughter, Mrs Jones, as his front seat passenger. The two had been returning home from Arrowe Park Hospital, where his long-term partner and her mother, Brenda Jones, had been admitted as an inpatient.
Eric Lamb, prosecuting, described how Ashworth, of New Heyes in Neston, was meanwhile travelling in the opposite direction in his Peugeot 3008 at the same time. The following collision was not caught on camera or witnessed by any other persons, while both motorists have "no recollection" of the event, the Liverpool Echo reports.
However due to markings left by the vehicles on the road surface, investigators concluded that the 62-year-old defendant's vehicle had "crossed the central divide into the oncoming carriageway," resulting in an impact to the front off-side of both cars. The court heard Mrs Jones was able to exit the vehicle following the crash. But the mum-of-five, nan-of-11 and great grandma-of-three died in hospital three days later due to "severe chest and abdominal injuries."
In a statement that was read to the court on their behalf, her children detailed how they and other relatives arrived at the scene before the emergency services after being informed of the crash and said: "We replay every moment in our heads like a slideshow. The constant images are a cruel reminder.
"We still expect to wake up and learn that this was all a dream. Just knowing how scared she would have been and the pain she would have felt consumes our minds every day. Mum was our laughter and our constant. She was the first person we called with good news or bad news."
Ashworth admitted causing death by careless driving and causing serious injury by careless driving. Appearing in the dock wearing a black suit over a white shirt and a tie emblazoned with a military crest on Wednesday, he showed no reaction as he was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months with a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 10 days.
Sentencing, Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said: "I would like to state at the outset that this is a truly tragic case. A life has been lost and another gravely affected. No sentence I can pass today could ever reflect such loss for the victim and their families. To them, I express my utmost sympathy.
"Naturally, questions arise. Why? How? The fact is that very little is known. You have no recollection of what happened. I accept that. Neither does Mr Bryn Jones.
"There is no evidence of a loss of control. There were no deficiencies with either vehicle. No one was impaired by alcohol or drugs. There is no indication that excess speed was a factor, and yet there you were on the opposite side.
"What has resulted here is an incalculable loss in respect of many members of the family. The outstanding question is whether or not this must be served immediately or can it properly be suspended.
"Factors in favour of suspending the sentence is that there are clearly reasonable prospects of rehabilitation. You do not present a danger to the public and there is strong personal mitigation. I do not consider, on balance, in all of the circumstances of this case, that immediate custody is demanded, and so the sentence will be suspended."
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