Dead woman's family criticise fatal crash sentence

The family of a grandmother killed in a Borders crash have criticised the sentence of a woman found guilty of causing her death by careless driving.

Angela Hislop, 48, was given a year-long driving ban and a 12-month nighttime curfew at her home in Kelso at Selkirk Sheriff Court.

Relatives of Janette Davidson, 72, also from Kelso, who died in the two-car crash near Floors Castle in November 2022, described it as "far too lenient".

A family statement said they did not believe it reflected "our pain, the value of Janette or serve a lesson to others".

Hislop, a nurse, was convicted of causing Ms Davidson's death by careless driving following a three-day trial at Jedburgh Sheriff Court in November last year.

The court heard she had been returning from a 12-and-a-half hour shift at Borders General Hospital when the collision happened.

Her red Mercedes GLE 300 crossed into the opposite carriageway and struck a grey Kia Venga driven by Ms Davidson, who died from her injuries.

Hislop denied during the trial that she had felt tired but believed she was fine to drive.

However, passing sentence at Selkirk Sheriff Court, Sheriff Peter Paterson said: "I strongly suspect that you knew you were tired but in some measure that is speculation."

The court heard she now worked 07:30 to 17:30 Monday to Friday and got a lift to and from work by colleagues.

As a result, Sheriff Paterson imposed a 12-month night curfew at her home in Kelso which will be electronically monitored and banned her from driving for 12 months.

He said: "This is clearly a tragedy primarily for the victim's family – her husband and daughters – and something they will never get over.

"There is nothing this court can do or say that will achieve any form of comfort or restoration and I accept that you know that.

"It would be open to the court to impose a custodial sentence but I am not going to do that and there is a genuine alternative to that."

A statement issued via lawyers Digby Brown on behalf of Ms Davidson's family said: "Every day we miss Janette – she was the most kind-hearted person and was a loving mother, wife, grandmother and friend.

"While we do our best to cherish the positive memories we have we cannot help but remain devastated at the loss of so many milestones we have missed with her."

They statement said the situation had only been worsened by what they family felt had been an "unnecessary trial".

"While we know that no sentence will ever bring Janette back we feel today's outcome is far too lenient and does not reflect our pain, the value of Janette or serve a lesson to others," the statement added.

"Our priority now is to move forwards in relative peace as we look to the future and try to continue to live with the same positivity and values she lived by.

"We'd like to thank everyone who has helped and supported us over the last two years – friends, family and beyond – and we now ask that our privacy is respected as we move forwards."