Mercedes driver, 25, accused of killing couple by dangerous driving in head-on crash which also left a young boy injured was ‘in a hurry’ to get to a beauty salon, court told
- Laila Barnard-Wigley was driving a car which collided with another head on
- She denies of causing death by dangerous driving and careless driving
Published: 09:36, 13 December 2023 | Updated: 10:39, 13 December 2023
A young woman accused of causing the deaths of two people by dangerous driving after a horrific ‘head-on’ crash is said to have been ‘in a hurry’ to get to a beauty salon.
Mercedes driver Laila Barnard-Wigley is alleged to have made five or six attempts to overtake another car a few minutes earlier because she was running late to get to the salon for her promised time of 3.30pm.
Her car veered across the road and crashed into the other car, leaving the driver and his passenger suffering ‘catastrophic’ injuries. They died at the scene and a young boy in the back of their car was seriously hurt, Hull[2] Crown Court heard.
Barnard-Wigley, 25, from Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire denies causing the deaths of Dean Yarrow and Faye Wardle by dangerous driving on May 7, 2021. She denies alternative charges of causing their deaths by careless or inconsiderate driving.
She also denies causing serious injury to a young boy by dangerous driving.
Laila Barnard-Wigley, pictured outside Hull Crown Court, is alleged to have made five or six attempts to overtake another car a few minutes earlier because she was running late to get to the salon for her promised time of 3.30pm
She was in collision with a red Peugeot 208 car being driven by Dean Yarrow, 33, with his girlfriend, Faye Wardle, 32, the front seat passenger. They died at the scene from their injuries.
A young boy was in the rear of the car and he suffered serious injuries that needed a plaster cast for a time
Michael Greenhalgh, prosecuting, said that the accident happened at 3.28pm as Barnard-Wigley drove a black Mercedes Benz car on the A165 at Scarborough Road, Bridlington, near the junction of Grindale Road crossroads.
She was in collision with a red Peugeot 208 car being driven by Mr Yarrow, 33, with his girlfriend, Miss Wardle, 32, the front seat passenger. They died at the scene from their injuries. A young boy was in the rear of the car and he suffered serious injuries that needed a plaster cast for a time.
Laila Barnard-Wigley is alleged to have made five or six attempts to overtake another car a few minutes earlier because she was running late to get to the salon for her promised time of 3.30pm
The speed limit on the road was 60mph.
The prosecution claims that Barnard-Wigley lost control of her car and it drifted over into the line of traffic coming the other way and that her driving fell ‘far below’ the standard of a careful and competent driver.
There was a ‘head-on collision’ and the prosecution claims that Barnard-Wigley was driving at a speed that was not appropriate for the weather conditions. She had been overtaking shortly before the crash and her manoeuvres were ‘unsafe’ as she did so.
‘Essentially, it was her fault that the collision occurred,’ claimed Mr Greenhalgh. Before the crash, Barnard-Wigley had exchanged messages with a female friend who worked at a Bridlington beauty salon.
Mention was made in the messages – sent at about 12pm – of Estee Lauder, make-up, foundations and perfumes.
Barnard-Wigley was offering to sell beauty product items to another woman who, at the time, was the owner of the salon.
The woman who exchanged the messages with Barnard-Wigley was acting as a ‘go-between’ between Barnard-Wigley and the salon owner over the possible sale of the items.
The trial, at Hull Crown Court, pictured, continues
‘The defendant told her that she would be in Bridlington by 3.30pm,’ said Mr Greenhalgh. A message from Barnard-Wigley said: ‘I can get to the salon for 3.30’ and another one from her said: ‘Ok babe.’
The crash was reported at 3.28pm. ‘The prosecution say that the defendant was in a hurry to get there,’ said Mr Greenhalgh.
Barnard-Wigley was seen overtaking another vehicle and she had been continually trying to overtake the driver ‘five or six times’ on the journey to Bridlington, pulling out to overtake and going back in.
‘It had been raining on and off all day,’ said Mr Greenhalgh. There was standing water on the road and the rain had been torrential, although it had subsided and almost stopped by the time she got to the Hunmanby area.
The driver told his passenger that he had better let Barnard-Wigley get past him.
She accelerated past the other driver and she pulled back in. He saw a large amount of spray coming from the back of her car. He spotted the back end of her car swing violently to the left and he braked because of that.
She seemed to have the car back under control but it veered to the right and was in collision with the Peugeot, which seemed to leave the road altogether and came to a rest on the opposite side of the road.
The driver and passenger of the other car suffered ‘catastrophic injuries’.
Other motorists stopped and the emergency services were alerted.
‘The defendant herself was injured in this collision,’ said Mr Greenhalgh
‘The police attended and she was taken to hospital.’
The beauty salon worker, a self-employed hairdresser, had been expecting Barnard-Wigley to arrive by 3.30pm to speak to the owner about a possible sale of the beauty products to her by Barnard-Wigley. ‘Obviously, she didn’t arrive,’ she said.
The hairdresser sent a message to Barnard-Wigley at 3.52pm asking her what time she would be there but she did not get a reply.
The woman found out later that night that Barnard-Wigley had been involved in a collision.
The trial, listed to last for about seven days, continues.
References
- ^ Darren Boyle (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Hull (www.dailymail.co.uk)