A mum-of-three who caused the death of a beloved grandmother while trying to make a phone call while driving has been spared prison.

Emma Farrelly had just picked up her daughter from primary school when she pulled out of the High Street in Charing, near Ashford, and into the side of a Ford Focus travelling along the A20.

Joyce Wright, 81, who was a passenger in the Ford, suffered serious injuries and died in hospital two weeks later, leaving her family heartbroken.

In a police interview following the tragedy, Farrelly, of Woodbrook, Charing, insisted that she had looked both ways before pulling out and told officers: “I didn’t see it until the last second”.

But handing down Farrelly’s punishment at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday, Judge Simon James said Mrs Wright’s death was caused by a momentary lapse of attention.

"You pulled out to cross a busy road, despite the fact that the car in which Mrs Wright was travelling was clear to be seen and indeed would have been in view for around 10 seconds,” the judge told the 36-year-old.

“That you didn't register its presence is obvious – otherwise you would not have pulled out to endanger yourself, your daughter or anyone else.

“Why you didn’t see it is more difficult to explain. It appears that you were at the time of the collision attempting to use your hands-free phone to make contact with your father.”

The court heard that prior to the collision at approximately 1.45pm on July 8, 2021, Farrelly had been called to collect her daughter from school, where there had been a reported case of Covid.

While driving her Renault Scenic, she was attempting to contact her parents to warn them not to come to her family house, lest they run the risk of being infected.

In a police interview, the former nurse said the call on her hands-free system had not connected – but she also admitted to having deleted the record of the call from her phone because she was unsure if it was legal to use a hands-free system while driving.

The law states drivers can use devices with hands-free access, as long as they do not hold them at any time during usage.

Farrelly tested negative for both drugs and alcohol. She told officers that she did not consider herself careless and could not explain why she had not seen the other car.

After the crash, Mrs Wright and the driver of the car she was in, James Pollack, were conscious and got themselves out of the car before both being taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

Mr Pollack had fractured his sternum and Mrs Wright had suffered multiple fractures, including to her ribs and sternum.

Following Mrs Wright’s death two weeks later Farrelly was charged with causing death by careless driving and admitted the offence when she appeared before Folkestone magistrates in December last year.

At the sentencing hearing on Friday, Prosecutor Martin Yale reported medical evidence that said despite Mrs Wright having underlying health issues, “her rib and sternum fractures played a very significant role in her death”.

Farrelly could be seen crying throughout proceedings as her partner and parents watched from the public gallery.

In a victim impact statement read aloud to court, Mrs Wright’s eldest daughter, Debbie, described the pain her mother’s untimely death had caused her family.

“Losing my mother in a car crash has been an unimaginable and heartbreaking experience,” wrote the mum from Ashford.

“My mother was not just a parent, but also my closest companion and confidant.

“There is a gaping void in my life that can never be filled and that is the consequence of the actions of the other driver.

“The accident occurred over two years ago but the pain feels as fresh as if it happened just yesterday.

“I have regular flashbacks of my mum’s last moments - she was so scared and in disbelief that she was going to die. She wasn’t ready to leave our world.”

Mitigating, barrister John Connor highlighted Farrelly’s clean driving record, responsibilities as a parent and her lack of any previous convictions.

He said: “This incident was over two-and-a-half years ago. She has had that knowledge and guilt ever since and that has affected her and her family quite considerably.

“She has three primary school-age children and she is the main caregiver. The children’s school has expressed concern about the welfare of all three children if they were to be deprived of the care of their mother.

“If she were to be incarcerated, their father would have to give up work to take care of the children and, in all likelihood, they would lose the family home.”

“You will for the rest of your life have to bear the burden of knowing that your carelessness cost another family their wife, mother and grandmother...”

After retiring briefly to consider what punishment to hand down, Judge James paid tribute to the victim and handed Farrelly her sentence.

He said: “Joyce Wright wasn't simply a loving mother, proud grandmother and devoted partner. She was so obviously a strong, supportive and nurturing woman who had much to live for, and who, despite her own health issues, remained the pillar around which her family was built.

“It is frankly impossible not to be profoundly moved by the pain, grief and deep sense of sorrow caused to so many by her untimely death.

“Regrettably, there is little if anything that I can do to alleviate the trauma of her passing, save perhaps to acknowledge publicly what a remarkable lady she was.

“Joyce Wright is no longer with us because of a mistake, a momentary lapse of attention.

“Her death was not caused by malice or deliberately, but by you making an error of judgement.

“The crown courts are often forced to deal with bad people who deliberately decide to do evil things. Sentencing such people is easy.

“The task of the judge is more difficult when confronted with good people who have done bad things, and is made even harder when, as here, I am sentencing a good person whose inattention has had wholly unintended, but undeniably tragic, consequences.

“Although this is an offence which had very serious consequences and caused immeasurable harm, I am not persuaded that sending a mother of three young children of impeccable character to prison is going to achieve anything positive.

“You will for the rest of your life have to bear the burden of knowing that your carelessness cost another family their wife, mother and grandmother.

“In all these circumstances I have decided to suspend the inevitable custodial sentence.

“I have reached this decision not because I underestimate the serious harm your negligence caused, but because I am persuaded that your limited culpability, coupled together with the disproportionate adverse impact that an immediate sentence of imprisonment will have upon your children, means that it is not possible to conclude that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody.”

Farrelly was given a 16-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.

She is also banned from driving until December 14, 2026.