A TV producer and wife of a former supreme court judge ‘simply did not see’ another car as she pulled out of a junction and caused a serious crash.
Lady Angela Neuberger, aged 74, was behind the wheel of a Mercedes car before 6pm on June 29, 2020, when she pulled out of the Marsh Farm junction and drive onto the B3157 Burton Road - the coast road between Burton Bradstock and West Bay.
Upon pulling out of the junction, she collided with a Smart car and caused serious injuries to the car’s driver.
Prosecuting, Helen Diffey, told Weymouth Magistrates’ Court how police were called to the crash, along with firefighters, ambulance crews and an air ambulance.
She said: “The victim was medically trapped and nurses came to her and treated her for severe neck pain. The defendant was meanwhile out of her vehicle and complained of a broken toe.”
Driver of Smart Car had 'life on hold' following serious crash
The court was shown photographs of the crash site, which showed two severely damaged cars and numerous emergency services at the scene.
The victim suffered injuries to her abdomen, wrist, cracked knee cap and bruising and was taken to Dorset County Hospital for further treatment.
In police interview, Neuberger told officers she had been driving from West Bay and had been infrequently driving due to the prior national lockdown.
The driver of the Smart car wrote in a statement how she required two operations following the crash and was undergoing extensive recovery programmes.
She said: “I cannot say June 29 took away my life but for the first 18 hours, I thought I was going to die four times.”
She added she was ‘trapped in my own home for six weeks’ due to her limited mobility and ‘doesn’t know when she will drive again’. She also spoke of the crash's impact on her mental health.
Neuberger, of Church Street, Abbotsbury, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.
Neuberger ‘simply did not see the other car’
Mitigating, Kevin Hill, said Neuberger ‘simply did not see the other car’ and claimed she had checked both directions before pulling out.
Referring to Neuberger’s own experiences of driving in the area, Mr Hill explained her main focus was looking to her left as she was aware motorcyclists may travel around a ‘notorious’ bend.
Describing it as a 'dull day', he said: “In short, she simply did not see the other car involved. She pulled out of that road and she did not see the other car.
“She cannot express exactly why that is because she simply did not see it but as she said in police interview, she has a theory with some understanding of how she caused this terrible accident.
“She would have been looking up the hill and there is a shadowy area of the road. The other car was dark in colour as it was grey.
“She looked right, she knew she looked right. She thought she had a clear view looking up the hill.
“She believes she must have looked over or across the car and simply did not see the car.”
Defendant apologised for crash and admitted her reasoning does not excuse crash
Mr Hill added that while ‘it is absolutely not an excuse or justification’ for the crash, Neuberger accepted she was ‘firmly at fault’ and profoundly apologised for her actions.
He said: “She has wanted to contact the victim and express her remorse and regret but has been advised not to do so due to this case.”
Mr Hill noted Neuberger has ‘contributed greatly to the local community' in many roles, as well as holding a number of ‘significant roles’.
Her website notes she has produced documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 and once was an editor of Crimewatch. She is married to top judge Baron David Neuberger, who previously ruled that the Government cannot trigger Article 50 to leave the European Union unless it had Parliament's consent in a landmark case at the United Kingdom Supreme Court in January 2017.
Magistrates described it as a ‘nasty accident’ and endorsed Neuberger’s driving licence with six penalty points.
She was also ordered to pay a £615 fine, £110 in court costs and £62 victim surcharge.
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