A driver who failed to stop at the scene of a crash that killed two children has been spared jail after the judge heard she had recently given birth.
Deimante Ziobryte, 21, was driving in Pitsea, Essex, when she collided with Roman Casselden, 16, and his sister Darcie Casselden, nine, at a junction. The siblings, who were on an e-scooter together, suffered catastrophic injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.
CCTV footage captured Ziobryte driving away before eventually stopping. Basildon Magistrates Court heard she made calls to her brother and partner but failed to contact emergency services or return to the scene.
The defendant, who covered her face with an umbrella outside court, sighed as Deputy District Judge Jennifer Twite handed her a three-month jail term, suspended for 12 months. The judge said she had taken into account the fact that Ziobryte had a three-week-old baby at home, had no penalty points on her licence before the crash, and had entered a guilty plea to the charge of failing to stop at the scene of a collision at the earliest opportunity.
Judge Twite told Ziobryte: 'Although you did pull over, you did not call the emergency services, nor return to the scene. You must have known you had been involved in a serious accident.'
Ziobryte, of Benfleet, Essex, wept in the dock earlier in the hearing as she listened to victim impact statements from the children's parents. Their mother, Emma Keeling, said: 'Since losing my children, this has had a huge impact on my life, causing me PTSD from serious trauma. I wake up thinking of Darcie and Roman. I wake up in sweats. I do not like going out to places Darcie and Roman have been to. I find it very difficult leaving my road as this is where the suspect's car was left.'
Ms Keeling, a dental assistant, added that she didn't think she would ever be able to return to work and described how her youngest son, Harrison, 13, who is autistic, no longer wants to sleep alone in the room he shared with Roman. 'Our lives have been turned upside down. The suspect has never given her account of events, which has not given us closure and has had an impact on my mental health,' she said. 'I miss having cuddles with my children and not taking them to school, not having them for Christmas and their birthdays, not ever being able to see them. This incident has ruined my life and it will never be the same again. I just want it to return to normal but I do not think it will ever again.'
Alec Casselden, the children's father, said he had been signed off work as a builder since their deaths. He added: 'The last year has been the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. Nothing compares to losing a child, let alone two of them. I feel numb. I cannot accept my children have gone. I have nightmares of them lying in the road alone. Most days I do not feel I am coping. I am left wondering how another human can hit two children and leave them lying in the road. I feel angry she left them. Why would she leave them lying in the road and drive away? I understand she could have been in shock. If she had called the emergency services at the time I would have more respect for her but she did not.'
He continued: 'No child should die before their parents. They had their whole lives ahead of them. I feel if she could do this once she could do this again. There was no remorse from this driver.'
Prosecutor Jasmin Akter said the accident on February 1 last year happened as the children were approaching the junction on their e-scooter. 'There's CCTV evidence that shows the defendant stops away from the scene,' she said, adding that calls to her brother and partner lasted 20 minutes but there were no attempts to dial 999.
Hulusi Ali, defending, told the judge his client was responsible for a 'panic-driven failure in the aftermath of a catastrophic event' and read a letter she had written in which she expressed her 'sincere remorse'. 'I've relived the events every day and I know I will carry the weight of these events with me for the rest of my life,' Ziobryte said. Mr Ali said the defendant 'accepts she should have stopped immediately, she accepts she should have contacted the emergency services'. Police found her in her vehicle nearby and she admitted to her involvement at the time, he told the court.
Mr Ali, who said Ziobryte 'has recently given birth to a young daughter who is three weeks old', added: 'The prosecution concluded she wasn't the cause of the accident.' An earlier hearing was told she swerved her Audi A1 to try to avoid the collision 'but unfortunately they made contact and the two youths on the e-scooter suffered fatal injuries as a result'.
Deputy District Judge Twite described the case as 'incredibly sad' and said it was 'impossible to imagine the grief that Darcie and Roman's parents are going through'. 'I've no doubt their suffering was increased knowing you didn't stop at the scene of the accident,' she told Ziobryte.
The defendant was also ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, and pay a total of £239 in costs and victim surcharge. Ziobryte was banned from driving for three years, but Mr Ali said she 'doesn't want to drive a motor vehicle ever again'.
