Woman in court overtragedy of sister’s car crash

Rosie-Ann Stone, 20, went on trial yesterday at Hull Crown Court accused of causing the death of her sister Jennie Stone, 28, by careless driving.

Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, told the jury that the incident began as Rosie-Ann’s Vauxhall Astra and Jennie’s Peugeot 206 were in a queue behind a slow-moving lorry on the A165, in East Yorkshire, between Hull and Bridlington.

Mr Sharp said Rosie-Ann pulled out of the queue to overtake the truck without looking behind her and did not see that her sister, who was behind her, had also pulled out to overtake.

The jury of six men and six women was told how witnesses saw both cars side-by-side at one point, leaving both vehicles scuffed.

Soon after, Jennie hit a crash barrier and lost control. Mr Sharp told the jury: “Her car veered back to the correct side of the road, in front of the lorry, and then it went off the road.

“There it ran into a tree at the roadside. The impact was very great and the car was badly damaged. Sadly, Jennie sustained multiple injuries and was killed.”

Mr Sharp said: “The young driver who pulled out without looking is the defendant, Rosie-Ann Stone. It is right you know at the outset of this case that the other driver who died was, by tragic coincidence, the defendant’s elder sister, Jennie Stone.”

Rosie-Ann Stone denies causing death by careless driving.

The jury was told the incident happened on a single carriageway section of the A165 near the village of Fraisthorpe at about 9.15am on February 18 last year.

Mr Sharp said: “The defendant, quite simply, had not looked behind her before she began her manoeuvre. If she had, she would have seen that the blue Peugeot being driven by her sister Jennie had also pulled out and had started an overtaking manoeuvre of her own.”

Mr Sharp said that in police interviews, Rosie-Ann admitted she did not check over her shoulder before pulling out and had not adjusted her door mirrors since buying her car a month before.

The case continues today.