Woman jailed for causing death of devoted Sheffield headteacher in motorway crash

Carer and retired headteacher Paula Kingdon died following the crash near Liverpool on October 31, 2019.

Anne Marie Crook, aged 43, of Cheviot Avenue, St Helens, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

She was jailed for four years and eight months and was disqualified from driving for five years and three months.

Emergency services were called to the southbound slip road of the M57 Junction 5 at Knowsley to reports of a collision between a Renault Clio, driven by Crook, and a Honda Jazz.

Crook and 64-year-old Mrs Kingdon, who was driving a Honda Jazz, were taken to hospital for treatment.

Mrs Kingdon died of her injuries and Crook was left in a critical condition in hospital. She has since made a full recovery.

A full investigation, CCTV and witness enquiries were carried out after the incident and Crook was interviewed and later charged for the offence of causing death by dangerous driving.

Mrs Kingdon, who lived in Meersbrook, worked at Westfield Infant School in Chesterfield for all her teaching career and was headteacher until the summer of 2016.

Inspector Stuart McIver of Merseyside Police said: “This was a tragic incident and our thoughts today are very much with the family of Paula who described her as a caring auntie and devoted former headteacher of Westfield School in Chesterfield.

“Her sudden death impacted on the whole Westfield school community and her neighbours in Meersbrook, Sheffield where Paula lived.”“This is a tragic case where an innocent woman has unnecessarily lost her life”.“Crook has been left in no doubt about the consequences of her actions, and I hope she will reflect on the impact this has had on the victim’s family.“I hope this long-awaited result will give Paula’s family some sense of closure so they can remember her as the person they loved and cared for almost two years on from this heart-breaking day.”