Baby suffers brain injury after driver’s ‘momentary action’

Rachel Pyrah’s mobile home hit a kerb, swerved across the path of a Volkswagen T-Roc coming the other way and overturned, said Matthew Moore-Taylor, prosecuting.  

Inside the Volkswagen car were the baby, a teenager who was also seriously injured, and their parents. They were on their way to a glamping holiday near Ripon on May 31, 2024.  

York Crown Court heard Pyrah was on a two-week travelling holiday in the vehicle which was then her home to help her cope with her grief after the recent death of her mother.

“What happened was not just an accident, it was a single moment that has forever changed our lives,” the father of the baby said. He also described it as a “tragedy”.

The family’s “happy, hopeful baby just beginning to explore the world around her” had become a child with severe disabilities including communication problems that prevented her playing and interacting with other children and affected her development, he said.

Mr Moore-Taylor said the baby was critically ill in Leeds General Infirmary for some days after the crash.

The teenager, who had been studying for her A-levels at the time, suffered broken ribs, and a scarred forehead that she said reminded her of the crash every time she looked at it.

She had forced herself to go to college before her injuries healed because her education was so important to her.

She said she was grateful to be alive and “it was heartbreaking” to know what the baby had gone through.

Recorder Paul Reid said the results of the collision had been “catastrophic”.  

It happened on the B6265 between Glasshouses and Risplith above Nidderdale on Friday, May 31, 2024, which had been a sunny day.

The judge said the road had grassy verges and two vehicles could pass with care. The mobile home and Volkswagen were doing between 40mph and 50mph.

At the place where the crash happened there was a raised kerb on the mobile home’s side of the road. Pyrah had moved to the left to ensure the two vehicles passed safely but had clipped the kerb and her vehicle had gone into the path of the family’s vehicle.

It was a “momentary” action which had had “catastrophic” consequences.   

The judge said he had to follow national sentencing guidelines which suggested he should pass a community order.

Pyrah, of High Street, Claythorpe, Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing serious injury by careless driving. She was given a 12-month community order with 60 hours’ unpaid work and banned from driving for 12 months.

A probation report said she was “utterly remorseful” for her actions and had accepted full responsibility.

Defence barrister Hayley Brickel handed in references which she said described Pyrah as a “careful and courteous driver,  safe, considerate, competent and courteous.”