A woman who caused the deaths of two people while rushing to a beauty salon before it closed has been given a suspended prison sentence. Laila Barnard-Wigley, 27, admitted causing the deaths of Dean Yarrow, 33, and his girlfriend Faye Wardle, 32, by careless driving on the A165 near Bridlington in May 2021.
Hull Crown Court heard that Barnard-Wigley was driving too fast for the wet conditions, which led to her Mercedes aquaplaning and causing a head-on collision with the couple's Peugeot. The prosecution said she was in a hurry to reach a beauty salon by its 3.30pm closing time to try to sell some beauty products.
The court was told that Barnard-Wigley had been overtaking vehicles to 'make rapid progress' before the crash. Her car veered across the road into oncoming traffic, leading to catastrophic consequences. The victims' young son was in a child seat in the back and survived.
In victim impact statements, the families described their devastation. Dean Yarrow's mother said she was 'broken beyond repair', and Faye Wardle's father said the 'silence is deafening again' at home. The couple were described as 'the life and soul of any party'.
Mitigating, Richard Dawson said Barnard-Wigley did not appreciate the risks of aquaplaning and that the crash was 'entirely out of character'. She had no previous convictions and a clean driving record. She was given a 21-month suspended sentence, 200 hours of unpaid work, a six-month night-time curfew, and a five-year driving ban with an extended retest required.
