Motorist Lewis Griffiths-Bungard pleads guilty to causing death of Jill Stevens in crash on Old Milton Road, New Milton
A MOTORIST has admitted causing the death of a retired district nurse in a hit-and-run crash in New Milton. As reported[1] in the A&T 75-year-old Jill Stevens was pronounced dead at the scene after the collision on Old Milton Road, near New Milton Baptist Church, on 24th March last year.
Former district nurse Jill Stevens lived in Compton Road
Lewis Griffiths-Bungard (26) of Hale Avenue, New Milton, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving when he appeared at Southampton Crown Court. He also admitted driving without insurance or a licence, and will be sentenced at the court on 6th February.
Jill, a retired district nurse who lived in nearby Compton Road, was described as “like a living angel” in a tribute given by her sister Sue Render.
Jill had devoted her entire life to caring for others, looking after the sick – even after retiring from nursing – including both parents.
A police appeal sign on Old Milton Road, New Milton, after the incident in which Jill Stevens died
Determined to work in the medical profession from a young age, she began training at the Great Ormond Street children’s hospital in the mid-1960s and later moved to Burley to care for her father. In 1986 she moved to New Milton, where she became a district nurse and cared for her mother. After retiring in 2006 she volunteered at Lymington hospital until the pandemic hit, and then supported those self-isolating or shielding.
Jill enjoyed travelling with her cousin Antony Stevens, visiting destinations including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Canada.
Sue added: “She was a wonderful and caring sister. “She was devoted to her nieces and great-nieces, even though she never married or had children herself. “She was like a second mother to all of them.
“She was like a living angel.”