Avril Hockley, 80,(pictured outside Southampton Crown Court yesterday) was ‘trying to be safe’ when she tried to slow down to give way to oncoming traffic but her ‘body did the opposite from what the brain told her to do’
An elderly driver has avoided jail after killing a pensioner – after she accelerated when she thought she was braking.
Avril Hockley, 80, of Lymington, New Forest, was ‘trying to be safe’ and intended to slow down to give way to oncoming traffic but her ‘body did the opposite from what the brain told her to do’, a court heard yesterday.
She instead sped up and knocked over shop signs before crashing into a telegraph pole, overturning her Rover car and fatally hitting 89-year-old Hazel Nash.
Mrs Nash, who had been walking to her curling club, was rushed to Southampton General Hospital.
Despite medics best efforts they were unable to save her with doctors describing her injuries as ‘catastrophic’ and ‘unsurvivable’.
Jane Terry, prosecuting, told Southampton Crown Court, Hants, that Hockley went to pull out from where she was parked when she believed she saw another car behind her so hit the brakes.
Miss Terry said: ‘One witness said he thought the car must have been stolen due to the speed the car was driving at.
‘It mowed down barriers before colliding with the telegraph pole.’
Hockley instead sped up and knocked over shop signs before crashing into a telegraph pole, overturning her Rover car (pic in November) and fatally hitting 89-year-old Hazel Nash
Hockley, also suffered serious injuries including fractures to eight ribs and bleeding on the brain.
The court heard prior to the crash in New Milton, on the edge of the New Forest, on November 1, 2016, Hockley had a ‘perfect’ driving record.
Jason Taylor, defending, said: ‘It is quite clear that this was a momentary error that occurred when the body does the opposite from what the brain tells the person to do.’
He added that since the crash Hockley had handed in her driving licence and would ‘never drive again’.
Mr Taylor said: ‘She wanted to say exactly what she said when she was first interviewed by police.’
Hockley said in a statement: ‘I am so sorry to the family. I think about her and her family every day’.
‘Although I do not remember what happened, I think about it. I am aware of the pain and fear I have caused.”
A statement from Mrs Nash’s son Geoffrey, which was read out in court, said: ‘On the day she was killed she was walking to her curling club.
‘She was so well loved by so many people and we have been deprived of more memories with her.’
Hockley admitted causing death by dangerous driving as she believed she was not well enough to face a trial. Pic: The crash scene in November
Hockley admitted causing death by dangerous driving as she believed she was not well enough to face a trial.
Sentencing Hockley to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months, Judge Christopher Parker QC said: ‘The irony is that in trying to be safe and braking to give way to another vehicle, it led to your vehicle’s acceleration..’
Hockley was also disqualified from driving for three years and will have to sit a retest if she wants to gain her license back.