A truck driver has admitted causing the death of a well respected nurse after smashing into the back of her stationary car while getting a can of cola out of his bag.
Tanya Forrest, 51, was driving her Ford Ka along the A189 Spine Road near Cramlington, Northumberland, when she pulled over with her mum in the car.
While other cars were able to safely move around her car, lorry driver Kenneth Wilson had taken his eyes off the road in order to get his drink.
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He crashed into Ms Forrest's car, flipping it onto its roof, causing fatal injuries to her and seriously injuring her 75-year-old mum.
Now Wilson is facing prison after he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and serious injury by dangerous driving as his trial at Newcastle Crown Court was about to begin.
The 53-year-old, of Milton Road, Carcroft, Doncaster, was further released on bail and told he can continue to drive until he is sentenced in April, when full details of what happened will be aired in court.
Judge Robert Adams told him: "I'm adjourning the case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
"In adjourning the case for a report, I'm giving no indication for sentence.
"I'm not imposing an interim disqualification today so you can continue to drive but there will be a disqualification when you are sentenced, it's mandatory in cases like this."
Rachel Hedworth, defending, said of Wilson: "He had a period while he was given counselling by the company he works for.
"He is still working."
We reported at the time how paramedics and the air ambulance were dispatched to the scene where Ms Forrest, from Bedlington, was pronounced dead on November 3, 2019.
Her mum, who was a front seat passenger in the car, was cut free by firefighters before being taken to Cramlington Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Following her death, Ms Forrest's colleagues at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust were left devastated.
Marion Dickson, executive director of nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals, said: "Tanya was a very popular and well-respected nurse who will be greatly missed by her colleagues at our Northumbria hospital and across our trust who have been deeply shocked by her tragic death.
"Our thoughts and sympathies are with her family and friends at this extremely difficult time."
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