Driver, 95, who killed dog walker while eyeing up empty disabled space is spared jail

A 95-year-old woman who ran over a dogwalker because she was too busy eyeing up a free disabled space on a petrol station forecourt has been spared jail.

Joan Barwick was ‘simply not looking at what was in front of her’ when she drove into grandmother Linda Wareham, 77, in Oldswinford in the West Midlands on April 17 last year.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Barwick, of Wollescote, Dudley, was turning right into a petrol station forecourt in Hagley Road while Mrs Wareham was crossing but failed to stop to let her cross.

Barwick, wearing a purple cardigan and using a walking stick to enter the courtroom for her sentencing hearing on Friday, was given a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

She had previously pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

The elderly defendant was allowed to sit in the well of the court instead of in the dock so she could hear proceedings properly.

The court heard Barwick, who was driving a red Vauxhall Corsa, would have had seven seconds to see Mrs Wareham before the collision occurred, but was focused on a disabled parking space that she had spotted was free.

Mrs Wareham suffered catastrophic head injuries, and her life support was turned off at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham the next day.

The victim’s tearful husband and daughter left the courtroom as CCTV footage of the moment she was hit by Barwick’s car was played.

Prosecution counsel Tim Harrington said Barwick was ‘not paying proper attention to what was in front of her’.

He said: ‘She was driving at an appropriate speed and had slowed down to 10mph but that should have meant she would see any pedestrian crossing her path, so Mrs Barwick was simply not looking at what was in front of her.

‘Instead, she was looking towards an available parking space on (the) forecourt.

‘As she drove slowly into the garage, she didn’t see Mrs Wareham, who was walking quite normally with her dog.

‘She was driving at such a speed that she would have been able to stop had she seen her, perhaps making this all the more tragic.’

Mr Harrington said Barwick, who was 94 at the time of the collision, had an ‘unblemished’ driving record but said Mrs Wareham was a vulnerable road user who had right of way.

Defending, Paul Lewis said Barwick had ‘genuine remorse’ for what had happened and had surrendered her driving licence following the fatal collision.

He urged Judge Michael Chambers KC to suspend any custodial sentence, saying imprisonment would reduce her life expectancy to months.

He said: ‘Her remorse is genuine and is sincere. She admitted her wrongdoing at the earliest opportunity.

‘She does not in any way seek to excuse what took place.

‘She continues to suffer the consequences of what she has done.’

He added: ‘Mrs Barwick accepts she was not paying proper attention… There are clearly no winners here.

‘It is a terribly tragic set of circumstances.’

In a victim impact statement, Mrs Wareham’s husband Peter said the couple had met at the age of 15 and had shared 60 years of life together but he had now been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

He said: ‘She was caring and selfless… She was good fun and independent.

‘She enjoyed a life of good health.

‘All that ended on April 18 when my wife was cruelly taken.’

Mrs Wareham’s daughter Joanne Willetts said her mother was her ‘unfaltering constant’.

She said: ‘I cannot accept she isn’t coming back.

‘I carry a quiet sadness that will be with me the rest of my life.

‘To lose my mum so tragically is heartbreaking for me and my children.’

Sentencing, Judge Chambers said: ‘Mrs Wareham was clear for everyone to see as she progressed along the pavement.

‘I’m quite satisfied Mrs Wareham is entirely blameless.

‘She was entitled to expect you to stop and respect the fact she had right of way on the pavement.’

He added: ‘Nothing I say in imposing sentence can put the clock back nor should any sentence I impose be seen as an attempt to put value on a life that has been lost.

‘The Crown’s case is put on the basis that this was a momentary failure to keep a proper lookout.

‘The Crown accepts that it can be inferred you were not paying proper attention as you should have done.

‘You were simply not looking at what was in front of you, instead looking at an available parking space.’

He added: ‘It is right that you have no previous convictions and no previous offences related to driving matters. You have a good driving record.

‘The Crown accepts that in January prior to this offence, you reapplied for your licence, and it was accepted that your sight was satisfactory to continue driving.’

Suspending the sentence he imposed, Judge Chambers said a period in custody would have a ‘significant impact’ on Barwick.

He also disqualified her from driving for 10 years and ordered she pay £705 of prosecution costs.