Mystery surrounds why a crash on the A4 happened, but a woman has admitted causing it.
Lisa Watson, 62, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention when she appeared at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court on Friday (13 January).
The smash happened on A4 London Road, between Box and Corsham, at around 6.30pm on 4 August last year.
Prosecutor David Foster said the defendant’s car – an orange Kia Picanto – veered across the central road marking and crashed head-on into an oncoming vehicle. A second vehicle was struck by Watson’s car, which subsequently overturned.
The driver of the first vehicle involved was admitted to hospital three days after the incident when she had begun getting persistent headaches. She was unable to drive for two weeks and had to take time off work.
The driver of the second vehicle sustained a fractured hand, bruising across his chest, whiplash, and bruised wrists and ankles. He didn’t have to take any time off work due to his wounds.
Mr Foster said the defendant, of Ludmead Road, Corsham, was not speeding – as confirmed by the motorist directly behind her. He said that Watson – who is employed as a carer – could not provide an explanation why she crossed the white line.
Trevor Line, defending, said his client had been driving for 30 years without any previous accidents. He said that why she crossed the line “remains a mystery”.
He told the court that Watson suffered the most serious injuries of those involved – including a fractured pelvis, chipped spine and punctured lung. She is aided by a crutch in court.
Mr Line said that the damage to the other vehicles was covered by her insurance company. She’s “extremely remorseful” and experiences “flashbacks of being upside down in the vehicle”.
Adding that Watson is “relieved nobody else received serious injuries as a result of her error on that day.”
Describing the crash as “nasty”, the magistrates fined her £80 and added six points to her clean driving licence. She was ordered to pay court costs of “85 and a £32 surcharge.
