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Driver on mobile jailed for two years
Russell Jenkins

A single mother of four, one of whom is disabled, has been jailed for two years for killing an 80-year-old pedestrian while using her mobile phone at the wheel of her 4x4.

Anne Foster-Chia, 44, was not concentrating on the traffic when she failed to stop her Toyota Rav4 at a junction, collided with another vehicle and spun into Dorothy Andrews, hurling her 15 yards.

Foster-Chia had denied that she was using her mobile phone at the time but was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court of causing death by dangerous driving.

Sentencing her, Judge Robert Moore said that he would have been more lenient if she had accepted her guilt from the start instead of lying.

He told her: “You told the police, jury and presumably yourself, and repeated to me, that you knocked the phone to the floor. The jury disbelieved you and so do I.”

At an earlier hearing the jury was told that the collision happened in December 2005 when Foster-Chia tried to cross a main road in Sheffield on the way to collect her ten-year-old autistic son from school for a hospital appointment.

Judge Moore said yesterday: “There is no doubt the phone rang. It was your joiner, although you thought it was the school.”

Michael Slater, for the prosecution, said: “The defendant failed to stop and give way at the junction because she was paying more attention to her telephone rather than keeping a proper lookout for the traffic conditions.”

Mobile phone records show that no calls were made or answered at the time of the collision. However, Lisa Timms, another motorist, said that she had seen the 4x4 shortly before the accident travelling at some speed with Foster-Chia’s head and shoulder tilted as if supporting a phone.

She said: “After the collision I saw her holding the phone up to her ear. I could see the phone at that time and she was talking at that moment. That was straight away after the collision but both cars had stopped.”

Mrs Andrews had been on her way to visit Jean Tallents, her widowed sister, who lived alone. In a witness impact statement, Mrs Tallents said: “Dorothy visited me every day. She was my lifeline. I have still not come to terms with the loss. I am so lonely, so heartbroken.”

Simon Myers, for the defence, said that his client was under enormous pressure looking after a severely disabled son. When the telephone rang, she may have thought it was the school saying her son had had another fit, he said. “She must have been thoroughly worn out,” he said.

Foster-Chia was also banned from driving for two years.

"Mobile phone records show that no calls were made or answered at the time of the collision."

So how can she be convicted of using her phone? One witness's word is given more weight in court than phone records? Seems strange to me.

Alison, Falkirk, UK

We do seem to be moving towards a 'vengeance' culture in cases of genuine accidents, caused by momentary lapses of concentration which result in a death.

Are we? Or are we moving towards a situation where people have been told enough times not to use their mobile phone whilst driving that the time has come to start punishing them if they refuse to listen and then cause a crash?

I feel the article needs clarification.

Are we? Or are we moving towards a situation where people have been told enough times not to use their mobile phone whilst driving that the time has come to start punishing them if they refuse to listen and then cause a crash?

Thats the point BB, we don't need legislation against mobile driving, we need legislation against inattentive driving. The two are not always the same thing!

Totally agree! There still remains the offences of DWDCA and DD which quite readily cover all manner of stupid driving.