Woman sentenced for causing serious injury in A19 collision
A 21-year-old woman from Jarrow has been handed a 12-month driving ban after causing a head-on collision that left another woman with multiple serious injuries. Megan Sanderson, of Haggerston Terrace, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving at York Magistrates' Court in May 2025.
Details of the crash
The incident occurred at 5.20pm on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, on the A19 in North Yorkshire. Sanderson was driving her Citroen DS southbound when eyewitnesses saw her cross the central white line, colliding head-on with a Kia Picanto travelling northbound. Both drivers had to be cut from their vehicles by firefighters.
The victim, a woman in her 20s, sustained a displaced right ankle, a broken leg, and a deep laceration to her arm. Sanderson suffered a broken arm and minor injuries.
Court sentence and victim impact
At York Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, Sanderson received a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months, along with the driving ban and an order to pay £439 in fines and costs.
In a victim impact statement, the injured woman said: "Before the collision I was a confident driver, but I feel I have lost my confidence now. My resilience and pride made me start driving again as soon as I could, but I have struggled with this." She added: "Before the collision, I was really independent, and I felt like I had my independence taken away from me and I needed to rely on other people. I suffer from pain on a daily basis."
Police response
PC Ross Moralee, of North Yorkshire Police's Roads Policing Unit, commented: "This was an entirely avoidable collision caused by a clear failure to maintain proper control of a vehicle. The consequences for the victim have been significant, and it is only fortunate that the outcome was not more serious." He added: "This sentence sends a message that careless driving will not be tolerated on our roads."
