Van driver who killed her wheelchair-bound cousin as he walked his dog while unable to see through her dirty windscreen avoids jail
- Hayley Sterna, 51, avoided jail after claiming she couldn’t see Chris Clements
- She said muck on her Peugeot’s windscreen meant the sunlight was dazzling
- Mr Clements, 40, was in his wheelchair exercising his dog Elsa at time of crash
- The father-of-three was hit beside B1052 in Westley Waterless, Cambridgeshire
- He broke his neck in 2006 while playing in sumo suit at friend’s birthday party
Chris Clements from Cambridgeshire was paralysed from the chest down after breaking his neck while playing in a sumo suit at a friend’s house in 2006
A van driver who ploughed into her wheelchair-bound cousin – who was paralysed by a sumo suit accident a decade earlier – said she couldn’t see through her dirty windscreen.
Hayley Sterna avoided jail after claiming she couldn’t see Chris Clements through her Peugeot because muck on the screen caused the sunlight to dazzle her.
Mr Clements, 40, was in his wheelchair exercising his dog Elsa at the side of the B1052 in Westley Waterless, Cambridgeshire, when Sterna’s vehicle struck him on January 4, 2017.
The father-of-three was rushed to Addenbrookes Hospital but died the next morning.
A decade before the fatal accident, Mr Clements had lost the use of his body from the chest down.
He fell awkwardly and broke his neck while playing in a sumo suit at a friend’s birthday party in 2006.
Forensic officers found that Sterna had not cleared her windscreen before the crash which killed him last year because she had run out of screen wash.
The 51-year-old from Somersham was found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.
Forensic officers found that Hayley Sterna had not cleared her windscreen (pictured) before the crash because she had run out of screen wash
Sterna avoided jail after claiming she couldn’t see through her Peugeot (pictured) because muck on the screen caused the sunlight to dazzle her
Sterna had previously admitted the less serious charge of causing death by careless driving.
Yesterday at Cambridge Crown Court she was handed a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years.
She was also disqualified from driving for two years, ordered to have an extended retest and given 200 hours of community service.
Mr Clements (pictured left and right with his son) died after being struck by a car while riding in his wheelchair
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