A woman who was left dripping with blood after a mum failed to notice a red light and smashed into her Audi believed she was going to die.
Amanda Griffiths saw a white light before blacking out during the horror incident on September 12 last year. She suffered serious injuries in the collision and feared she would die a similar death to her brother who was previously killed in a car crash, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Amanda's vehicle went tumbling across Switch Island - rolling twice before crashing into railings and a traffic light - when Susan Blundell became distracted.
Blundell, 43, was driving to Flamingo Land with her partner and kids when she became distracted by her sat nav, causing her to flout a red light and crash into the vehicles which were turning right.
The traffic light at the major junction had been red for seven seconds when Blundell, of Newfield Close in Thornton, passed through it in her white Vauxhall Mokka.
Prosecutor Bernice Campbell told the court Amanda's blue Audi Q4 was travelling towards Formby from St Helens when it was hit.
She described seeing a "white flash coming towards her from the corner of her eye" and "wincing" before "everything went black" and she heard the sound of crunching metal.
Amanda recalled her head "dripping" with blood and feeling a "squishy mush" when she touched her head in the immediate aftermath of the car.
She was still recovering from a broken back suffered in January 2021 but managed to exit the vehicle and move to the grass verge before she was rushed to Aintree Hospital by ambulance.
Amanda suffered a head wound that required 13 stitches, whiplash, a cut on her right forearm and bruising to her chest and upper right arm.
In a statement read out in court on her behalf, Amanda detailed how her brother Martin, 21, was killed in a crash while working in Africa in 1980.
The vehicle he was in was struck and rolled over in "very similar circumstances" to Amanda's crash. She said she had suffered "not very nice" dreams about her older sibling and weeks of nightmares.
She said: "I have always struggled to come to terms with his loss. I miss him still.
"From the moment I was hit by the car, I believed I was about to die. It momentarily went black, and my thoughts were with my brother.
"Was that what he felt too? I have been unable to shake these thoughts out of my system.
"It took me a very long time to bury that grief, and here I am reliving it all again. This accident has opened up old wounds I thought were long since buried."
Amanda also alleged that Blundell claimed the light had been green and accused the car she hit of speeding in the comments section of an ECHO article on the night of the crash.
The full-time carer to her 89-year-old father-in-law had to use £15,000 in her saving to buy a new car.
Her statement concluded: "You put several lives at risk that day, including your own children. This is downright inconsiderate and reprehensible."
A second car - a black BMW Z4 - was also struck by Blundell's uninsured vehicle and driver Lee Jewitt suffered a minor injury to his hand. All three vehicles were written off as a result of the crash.
Blundell was described as a "relatively inexperienced" driver by defence agent Jim Smith and could be seen wiping away tears during a hearing.
The mum has no previous convictions and was said to be unaware her insurance company had cancelled her policy months prior to the incident due to missed payments.
She has since lost her job in a Barclays call centre but is hoping to resume work as a part-time carer.
Mr Smith said: "She was someone who was going through life events since the recent deaths of her mother and father and trying to hold down her position at Barclays. She is a single parent to two young children.
"She believed the lights had turned green. She was looking at other lights which appeared green.
"She was not confident about which lane she was supposed to be in. She was going away for respite, going to Flamingo Land with her partner and children.
"She was looking at the sat nav, which seemed to be giving her the incorrect lane to be in. She is deeply sorry for the pain and suffering she has caused.
"She momentarily lost concentration. She is genuinely remorseful and sorry for her actions."
Blundell admitted causing serious injury by careless driving and driving without insurance. She clutched her heart in the dock on Tuesday as she was told she would not be going to jail, instead being handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 15 days.
A 12-month driving ban was also imposed. Sentencing, Recorder Nicola Daley said: "You were using your satellite navigation system and must have been distracted by that.
"Despite the fact of the lights having been on red for some seven seconds and cars being stationary in other lanes, you failed to notice. She has been significantly affected, financially and psychologically, and she is justifiably angry.
"You are properly described as a woman of previous good character. Friends speak of you being loyal, reliable, caring and honest.
"You do take full responsibility. You have clearly expressed substantial regret and remorse.
"You must have been looking at your sat nav and not paying attention to the road. This was an entirely avoidable distraction which resulted in severe physical and psychological harm to Ms Griffiths and harm to others, including your own children.
"This is a serious case of its type, falling just short of dangerous driving. In the immediate aftermath of the accident, I note both at the scene and afterwards online you were wrongly seeking to blame others.
"Set against that, you have no previous convictions. I accept you are genuinely remorseful and you continue to suffer with your own mental health."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
