Wetherby man sentenced to five years in prison after admitting to causing death by dangerous driving in crash that killed 62-year-old grandmother

Maria Cuzyova died in April 2019 after William Charles Jackson, 23, who was driving a Vauxhall Astra, made to overtake on a hill between Kirk Deighton and Walshford, and collided with the Volkswagen Polo she was travelling in as rear passenger.

Mrs Cuzyova’s daughter, Michaela Young who was driving the Polo and her son-in-law Nicholas Young, who was travelling as the front seat passenger, both sustained life changing injuries in the incident.

Their five-year-old daughter also sustained minor injuries in the crash.

Jackson pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, and to two further counts of causing serious injury due to dangerous driving.

He was sentenced by Judge Simon Hickey at York Crown Court yesterday to five years and eight months imprisonment and was banned from driving for seven years and 10 months. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £190.

A victim statement read in court by Mr Young described the trauma Mrs Cuzyova’s death had had on the family both in the UK, and Slovakia where she was from.

Michaela Young, in a statement after the sentencing, said: “Mum was full of life and loved by everyone. She was devoted to her family, especially her grandchildren who miss her every day. My Dad’s lost his wife of 40 years, his rock, and my Grandma her only daughter and main carer. I have lost my Mum and a best friend.

“Our family has been ripped apart and we are all utterly devastated. Both my husband and I are left with lifelong injuries that constantly remind us of the horror caused by William Jackson.”