A woman accused of causing the deaths of a couple in a head-on crash has been cleared after a collision expert testified that her car had aquaplaned, making the accident unavoidable. Laila Barnard-Wigley, 25, was charged with causing the deaths of Dean Yarrow, 33, and Faye Wardle, 32, by dangerous driving on the A165 at Scarborough Road, Bridlington, on 7 May 2021.
Hull Crown Court heard that Barnard-Wigley's Mercedes Benz veered across the carriageway and collided with the couple's Peugeot 208. A young boy in the rear of the Peugeot suffered serious injuries. Prosecutors had alleged she was in a hurry to reach a beauty salon, having attempted to overtake another car several times minutes before the crash.
However, collision reconstruction specialist Peter Davey, a former police officer, told the court that footage from an HGV showed a film of water on the road surface, consistent with aquaplaning. "There was no other explanation for why the car would have acted the way it did," he said, adding that Barnard-Wigley could do "absolutely nothing at all" to prevent the loss of control. He described the car as becoming "a rudderless boat" once the wheels lost contact with the road.
Barnard-Wigley, of Thoresby Avenue, Bridlington, had denied charges of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving, as well as alternative charges of causing death by careless driving. The court's decision effectively acquits her of all charges related to the incident.
