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An elderly woman has received a four-year prison sentence and an eight-year driving ban after admitting to causing the death of an eight-month-old baby in a crash outside Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in June 2023. Bridget Curtis was in control of a BMW when she lost control after reaching for a handbag on the rear seat while still operating the pedals. In the resulting crash, Curtis injured bystanders and fatally injured the baby, Mabli Cariad Hall, who was in a pushchair next to her father.
Curtis was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday, and her sentence was reduced by 25% due to her guilty plea. She will have to pass an extended re-test before she can drive again following her disqualification.
Judge Geraint Walters said Curtis had been “grossly reckless”, leading to Mabli dying “senselessly and needlessly”. Mabli, who was born on 27 September 2022, died from a severe traumatic brain injury at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children four days after the crash on 21 June 2023. The loss of Mabli had changed the family’s lives forever, according to a statement issued at the time.
Curtis’s actions had fatal consequences and serve as a reminder to all motorists of the serious responsibilities that come with being a driver, said Michael Cray, prosecuting. Mabli’s father Robert Hall said Curtis “literally ripped my baby out of my hands”, and Curtis’s family was also in court during sentencing as Curtis’s defence lawyer John Dye argued his client was of previously good character and had no points on her licence. She has since been diagnosed with PTSD and depression and experiences flashbacks of the crash. In a letter read in court, Curtis said she was “so deeply sorry” and the “sadness and grief will be with me ’til my dying day”.
Following the crash, Mabli was taken to the A&E department at Withybush hospital before being transferred to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and then on to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Judge Walters said lives had been “changed forever” by the death of a “much cherished child”, addressing Curtis as being “responsible for the life-changing devastation”. The case was deemed “quite chilling” by the judge, and he stated that although Curtis “didn’t set out to drive in that way” or “intend harm to anybody”, it was hard to imagine a case more “grossly reckless”.
In a statement after the sentencing, Mabli’s family said she was “the sunshine in our lives and shall forever be loved and missed”. They also called for drivers to realise that they are responsible for their own actions and the wellbeing of others
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