Driving ban for fatal crash woman

Petra Easton was sentenced at the High Court in Aberdeen

An accountant who caused a crash in West Lothian which killed a teenage mother has been fined £1,500 and banned from driving for 18 months.

Petra Easton, 49, originally stood trial accused of dangerous driving but a jury found her guilty of the lesser charge of careless driving.

On 7 November 2006, Easton tried to overtake three vehicles on the A704 West Calder to Forth road.

She crashed head on into a minivan carrying six members of a family.

At the High Court in Aberdeen, Lord Emslie said she had shown sustained carelessness.

Mother-of-one Gail Stewart, 19, was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh after the crash but died of serious injuries two weeks later.

A competent and safe driver would not have driven as you did Lord Emslie

Her mother Michelle had to have a leg amputated, her one-year-old daughter Rebecca broke her ankle and her younger sisters Sammy, 18, Stephanie, 14, and Jennifer, 11, were all treated for broken legs.

Defence counsel Peter Gray QC said: "There was nothing unusual about the manner that Mrs Easton overtook.

"The only aspect of carelessness was her decision to attempt to overtake when it was not safe to do so.

"The carelessness in carrying out the manoeuvre was in failing to take sufficient time to ensure that the road was indeed clear ahead."

Sentencing Easton, Lord Emslie said: "A competent and safe driver would not have driven as you did.

"The tragic consequences were catastrophic with a whole family injured and a young mother tragically killed."