Woman, 96, ‘ashamed’ of what she did after leaving church hall bridge club

June Mills was driving home from the event when she ran over and killed her teammate Brenda Joyce

A 96-year-old woman has been left “haunted and shamed” after she hit and killed another pensioner after an afternoon playing cards. June Mills was driving home from a bridge club in a church hall when she ran over her teammate Brenda Joyce.

The OAP claims she “suddenly lost control” of her vehicle when the accelerator pedal slipped from under her foot as she maneuvered around a parked car. A judge today told her it would “do no one any good” to send her to prison after calling her a “complete tragedy”.

Liverpool Crown Court heard this morning, Monday, that both Mills and 76-year-old Ms Joyce were among around 50 participants in the bridge club at Elbow Lane Methodist Church in Formby on the afternoon of August 2 last year. The latter and her friend Jennifer Ensor had driven to the event, but parked their cars not far away and headed back to their vehicles shortly after 4 p.m.

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Robert Dudley, prosecuting, described how Mills, of Broadway Close, Ainsdale, had also gone to the bridge club in her white Vauxhall Corsa. She had parked her 62-plate automatic in the church parking lot and was approaching vehicles waiting to turn from Elbow Lane onto Duke Street from behind when she plowed into both women.

Ms Ensor said afterwards that she was walking side by side with Ms Joyce towards Duke Street when she was hit from behind and fell to the ground. The 80-year-old was unable to see her friend afterward, but noticed that her handbag was left scattered on the sidewalk.

A retired doctor, Dr. Meanwhile, Nera Nirula, who had been waiting in the queue in her Jaguar, saw the Corsa come to a stop at the front of the queue after colliding with a Ford. She recalled seeing “a leg under the rear passenger side” of Mills’ car and went to help the trapped accident victim.

Firefighters had to raise the vehicle to free Ms Joyce from below, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr Dudley detailed how it turned out her head hit the windscreen of the car before being dragged under it, suffering multiple fractures to her skull, legs, pelvis and ribs. An autopsy concluded that she had died “from multiple injuries as a result of severe blunt force trauma”.

Ms Ensor has since suffered injuries, including a bump on the left side of her head, but did not require hospital treatment. The Jaguar and Ford were also damaged in the incident.

Mills was uninjured after the accident and told police officers present that “there was a vehicle in front of her and she had accelerated to get around the vehicle when she suddenly lost control, mounted the sidewalk and struck a woman.” When interviewed at her home address on September 25, 2023, she said in a prepared statement that she was “devastated and deeply saddened” and was “struggling to deal with what happened.”

She added that she had been driving for 65 years but would only use her car to visit a bridge club, pick up her friend from Birkdale and go shopping at Waitrose and had “never had any problems with the car”. Mills’ statement continued: “The time required for the following events would have been only seconds.”

“My car just shot forward, completely out of control. It felt like the pedal was falling away. I remember just gently pressing the accelerator and then it felt like it was going to hit the floor and start moving.”

“It all happened very quickly and there were people in front of me but I couldn’t avoid hitting them because the car was going so fast that I had no control over it. I remember trying to avoid them, but it all happened so quickly.”

Mills, who has no criminal record, has since surrendered her driver’s license. Tom Gent, defending, told the court: “This is clearly a terribly sad case. Ms Mills extremely regrets what happened. The consequences will haunt them forever. She feels great shame and guilt.”

“She maneuvered around a car parked on the left in front of her. She was returning to the correct side of the road when she unexpectedly over-accelerated. She accepts that she must have mistakenly over-accelerated. This caused the car to jump forward and clear the curb before the collision.

“It was not an intentional act. It was her mistake, but she can’t explain it. This unintended, excessive acceleration confused her. This confusion led to a delay in braking and the collision. It wasn’t a conscious decision to drive in the way she did.

“The defendant is 96 years old. In her long life she has never committed a crime before. She has a very long and good work experience. Her health is very poor.”

“Testimonials speak to a long history of helping others. She had worked as a youth leader and career counselor. After her retirement, she volunteered with both crime victims and young offenders.

“More recently it has housed Ukrainian refugees and will continue to do so. She continues to be involved in charitable causes, less in terms of her time and more in terms of her finances.”

“It is obvious that she is a caring, compassionate woman. She clearly felt the consequences. It still haunts them. She is now reluctant to leave home and is embarrassed about appearing in criminal court.”

“There is real and significant remorse. The defendant surrendered her driver’s license after this incident. The reality is she will never drive again and she completely accepts that.”

“She poses no danger to the public when she drives. There is absolutely no chance that she will ever reoffend. She has a long and impeccable past. She demonstrated positive qualities throughout her long life.”

Mills admitted causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing and is believed to be the oldest woman in the country to be convicted of such an offence. She was allowed to remain outside the dock and instead sat in the courtroom in a wheelchair, wearing a green coat and a blanket over her knees. She appeared to breathe a sigh of relief and nodded as she was handed an 18-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Medland KC said: “In your long life you have never committed a crime, quite the opposite. Many people speak of your kindness, your community spirit, your warmheartedness and your general goodness.”

“This court’s sympathy must necessarily lie with Ms Ensor, who was injured, and Brenda Joyce, who died, but it is right to note that this case is a complete tragedy in every respect. You have lost your good character and find yourself in the dock of a crown court.

“It would not benefit anyone to turn this into an immediate conviction, nor would that be a fair outcome. Due to your age and illness, no punishment in the form of unpaid work or similar would be appropriate. Due to your previous arrears. “If you are of good character, there is no need for rehabilitation measures.”

Mills was also fined £1,500 and ordered to pay court costs of £500. She was banned from driving for five years and must pass an extended retest before being allowed back on the road.