Wiltshire mum caused son’s death in horror Dorset crash

Barbara Roe, of Ludgershall in Wiltshire, was jailed for five years for causing the death of her nine-year-old son Zac by crashing her Citroen hire car on the A354 Salisbury Road, at East Woodyates, North Dorset, on March 25 last year. The 39-year-old was also banned from driving for seven-and-a-half years. Bournemouth Crown Court heard that, at the time of the crash, Roe had been exhibiting symptoms of mania and was "racing" against a white Ford van in a bid to pass it.

She had been travelling at speeds in excess of 90mph along a stretch of dual carriageway before crashing into a DAF lorry with a trailer of livestock. This caused her car to become "airborne", with the engine becoming detached by the force of the crash and landing "30 yards" from the vehicle. Zac Roe (Image: PA) Witnesses in a Porsche that Roe overtook moments before the crash had said out loud: "That is so irresponsible that is an accident waiting to happen."

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Roe is diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder and had recently "unexpectedly" separated from her son's father Josh Roe. Judge Robert Pawson said: "She will carry a life sentence, that burden of knowing for the rest of her life that it was her actions that caused the death of her son." He added: "There is clear evidence of a progressive deterioration and it affected her rationality although Mrs Roe suffered from a defect of reason but she knew what she was doing and she knew what she was doing was wrong."

Before the crash, Mr Roe had become concerned about his wife's mental state and had attempted to contact the authorities to express his concern about her condition, after she had previously been sectioned in 2022. Despite these concerns, no action was taken to prevent her from picking Zac up from school on the day of the fatal crash. Suggested reading

The judge said: "The significant victim who is left alive is his father, Josh Roe, who contacted the police, the school and children's services in the days before the collision. "He tried to call Mrs Roe's psychiatrist and that in itself is a clear indication of the decline in Mrs Roe's state." In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Roe said: "I feel so betrayed by the professional services who should have listened to me."

Describing his son, he said: "He was such an amazing boy, full of life, fearless, clever and he had such a kind heart. "He would light up any room he went in, he was one of a kind. "My heart is broken beyond words, I miss Zac so much."

Lyn and Christopher Roe, the grandparents of Zac Roe (Image: PA) The judge also said that there had been "competitive driving" between the defendant and the van driver in the moments before the crash, before he highlighted that the driver of the cattle truck was "utterly blameless". Charles Gabb, defending, said that Roe had been experiencing a "deteriorating mental state" and added: "In that hyperactive state, without properly appreciating what she was doing and what was going on and not in a proper lucid state, this tragedy occurred. "Ms Roe has a life sentence, her sense of loss is possibly the greatest of all and the tragedy is that it is self-inflicted."

Mr Gabb explained that Mrs Roe had wanted to take Zac to visit Durdle Door and had become "agitated" by her wish to get there in time that evening.