A woman who was driving her £50,000 SUV killed a motorist in a head-on crash after she became distracted whilst trying to switch on her heated steering wheel.
Lynn Worgan, 66, said she had a "momentary lapse of concentration" for five seconds as she continuously pressed the buttons in her luxury Volvo XC40. Chester magistrates court heard how she veered onto the wrong side of the country lane in Poole on May 15, last year. She smashed into an oncoming Audi TT Quatro, which was being driven by rock musician Christopher Allen.
The 47-year-old guitarist tried his best to steer out of her way but was sadly still hit. The scene was so severe that he had to be cut out of his car whilst suffering from a traumatic head injury. He endured multiple injuries and was airlifted to Royal Stoke Hospital. Despite medics' best efforts, he tragically died two days later. Worgan, who is a director at a labelling company run by her husband David, was spared jail at the court.
Mr Allen's grief-stricken sister Lesley Everall slammed her driving and said she had considered taking her own life due to the trauma of the accident. Referring to a previous hearing where Worgan pleaded guilty Ms Everall said: "I left the court feeling angry. It felt cold and I felt like Chris did not matter. I felt like it was all about the defendant. I felt I was the only one shouting about his life. At the court case, it was hard for me to hear that she was looking at the steering wheel on two occasions. She looked away twice.
Lynn Worgan evaded jail after appearing in court (David Crilly/ Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)
Lynn Worgan has been banned from driving (avendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)"I do not feel it was a mistake. Once maybe, but not twice. She did not see his reaction or the fear on his face. The so-called carelessness meant she did not look up. This is the worst and most shocking and painful trauma I have had to endure in my life." She added: "There is shock, tears, guilt, anxiety and stress making me unwell, sleepless nights, nightmares, anger that at times has taken over me. The defendant has never had to experience this.
'My neighbours parked on my drive so I blocked them in - now they're furious'
"I am not an angry person but I have been since this incident. I do not want the defendant to be part of my life anymore, I just want Chris's memory, and to find some closure. The tragedy has been the worst thing in my life and caused a lot of suffering, not just for me. It has also had an effect on other people, not just me. I wish for justice but I am not sure I will ever be satisfied."
Worgan faced up to three years in jail under sentencing guidelines after she admitted to causing death by careless driving. But she was given 26 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months and ordered that she undertake 200 hours of unpaid work. She was also made to pay £239 in costs and victim surcharge and banned from driving for two years.
Mr Allen, who played with Indie rock group Green Bullet, was driving through the remote hamlet of Poole near Nantwich where Worgan lives with her husband. Miss Clare Oliver, prospecting, said: "Mrs Worgan was travelling in the opposite direction and it seems her intention was to put on her heated steering wheel. She had to look away from the road in order to do that and pressed the button twice. The car then veered across the road in the direction of where Mr Allen was travelling from. A witness travelling behind her said she strayed for about five seconds.
"Mr Allen swerved away from Mrs Worgan's car as he saw it approaching him but could not avoid a collision. That five-second distraction Mrs Worgan was engaging in when turning on the heated steering wheel quite clearly fits the description of her 'engaging in a brief but avoidable distraction'."
Mr Allen died at the age of 47 (Christopher 'Bigsby' Allen/ Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)In her statement, Mrs Everall said she still suffers from the anxiety and stress of having to leave her house, in case people ask her about her brother. She added: "Chris's life meant so much. He made an amazing impact on so many lives. He had the ability to brighten up any room and he touched all our hearts."
In mitigation for Worgan, defence counsel James Coutts, addressed the "devastating case" and said: "Whatever the impact on Mrs Worgan and her family it cannot and does not compare to the loss of the friends and family of Mr Allen as we have so emotionally heard from his sister.
"But it is the defence submissions that this was a momentary lapse of concentration. It was five seconds, and it was so sudden what happened. There is genuine remorse, guilt and shame and there is nothing that she can say or do that can do justice to the devastating impact this incident has had on the family. She would wish to offer a heartful and unreserved apology. It is right that she has not resumed driving and will not resume driving again. Given that the accident was just outside of her home address, she has a daily remember of the incident. "
Sentencing Worgan, District Judge Jack McGarva told her: "Mr Allen was a relatively young man with a long life ahead of him. He actually pulled off the road to avoid being hit by you. His life has been wasted because of what happened. He added: "It would be easy for me to say: 'Send it to the crown court to let someone else make the decision'. But if I do that, I think I would be abrogating my responsibility. I think it is a case where I can and should sentence. You have made a conscious decision to take your eye off the road to operate the controls of your car which requires pressing two buttons.
"There is the suggestion that your eyes might have been off the road for five seconds but at 40 mph you travel 60 feet or so, so five seconds is a long time. You made a choice - you did not have to operate the heated steering wheel. There is an argument that immediate custody is necessary to stop people making that sort of choice but there is a good prospect of rehabilitation and you are unlikely to be back before the courts. I believe ultimately you have to live with what you have done and you have to live with what you have caused other people to feel."
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