A WOMAN motorist who lost control of her car and crashed into an on-coming vehicle, killing the driver, has been convicted of causing his death by dangerous driving.

A Liverpool Crown Court jury found Patricia Igoe guilty and remanded her on bail until October 13 for sentence.

Miss Igoe, aged 28, who had denied her speeding had caused the accident, wept after the jury returned their verdict.

During her trial the jury heard that after smashing into the Vauxhall Nova on Woodchurch Road, Birkenhead, her car bounced into the offside lane and was struck by a double decker bus carrying a party of children on a day out.

Prosecuting counsel, Mr Mark Brown, said that Igoe was driving her Ford Escort too fast as she took a bend and crossed over onto the opposite carriageway.

Igoe, of Rowan Grove, Higher Bebington, denied causing the death of 64-year-old Edward Softley by dangerous driving.

The court heard that the accident happened about 9.30am on June 26 last year near Ackers Road as Miss Igoe, mother of two, was driving along the four-lane Woodchurch Road towards the Arrowe Park roundabout.

She was on the way to the nearby hospital to see her baby who had been born six weeks prematurely.

There is a 40 mph speed limit, but witnesses spoke of her travelling at 65 mph.

She lost control on the bend on the wet road and crossed over into the inside lane of the opposite carriageway.

Mr Softley, who was staying in Wirral on an extended holiday from Australia, died almost instantly after suffering internal haemorrhaging caused by injuries to his heart and lungs.

Defence barrister, Mr Trevor Parry Jones, said after the verdict was returned that Miss Igoe, whose baby is ill, has no previous convictions.

Mr Softley's widow, Anne, attended the trial and after the conviction the judge, Recorder Geoffrey Tattersall, QC, said that it had been a "terrible tragedy" and extended his sympathy to her.

After the hearing, Mrs Softley said that she and her husband had been on holiday in this country since the previous November and were house-minding for friends in Wirral while they were on a world tour.

They had emigrated to Australia many years before and have five children and five grandchildren living there.

She said that she was pleased with the verdict but explained: "It doesn't change things for me. I am still without Ted and so are the children and grandchildren. It goes on like ripples in a pond.

"I think people who do anything which is going to affect someone else's life, regardless of whether on the road or not, have to be accountable."

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