Hardworking new mother spared jail over sleep-deprived death crash
Erica Buenor admitted causing the death of black cab driver Arthur Pountney by careless driving.
A hardworking new mother from Crawley has been spared jail after a court heard she killed a 77-year-old taxi driver in a road crash because of a lack of sleep.
Wedding caterer Erica Buenor, 35, admitted causing the death of black cab driver Arthur Pountney by careless driving and was handed a 10-month suspended sentence on Monday.
The Old Bailey was told the mother-of-three had been breastfeeding and was working the day before the collision and well into the night as a wedding caterer.
The accident happened as Buenor was driving a hired Peugeot van on Kidbrooke Park Road, Eltham, south London, shortly after 2.20am on June 9 2023.
The van “drifted” across the road and into oncoming traffic, partially colliding head-on with Mr Pountney’s taxi, the court heard.
Mr Pountney sustained a broken shoulder, bruising and fractures to the ribs and sternum, then suffered a fatal heart attack in hospital two days later.
A crash investigator found the taxi was in Buenor’s line of sight for 13 seconds before impact and attributed the crash to a “lapse of concentration” on her part.
Sentencing, Judge Rebecca Trowler KC told Buenor: “You accept that the collision must have been a result of a failure to maintain concentration.
“You had in fact been working all that day and into the night at a wedding catered by your family business which you ran with your sister.
“Your sleep the day and night before would have been interrupted by the preparation for that wedding that following day and also because you were breastfeeding at the time.”
The judge determined the collision happened as a result of “a substantial lapse in concentration” because Bueno was “deprived of adequate sleep and rest”.
Judge Trowler said Mr Pountney’s death had caused the “very deepest distress and devastation” to his family.
His widow Irene has since died having suffered a rapid deterioration in health after losing her husband.
Referring to loved ones present in court, Judge Trowler said: “The pain experienced by all members of his family here today is palpable.”
In deciding the sentencing, the judge took account of the fact Buenor has three children, with the youngest just three-months-old, and no previous convictions.
She added: “You are someone who achieved in education. You have worked hard during your adult life."
“I take account of the fact you have expressed remorse and victim empathy.”
Buenor, from Crawley, West Sussex, was sentenced to 10 months in custody suspended for 18 months plus 90 hours of unpaid work.
She was also disqualified from driving for four years and ordered to pay costs of £1,630.