Woman who caused death of Jersey driver to be sentenced today

Wednesday 07 February 2018

A 39-year-old woman who caused the death of a 69-year-old man from Jersey in January 2017 after a mattress fell from her car while she was driving on a carriageway in Kent is due to be sentenced in Maidstone Crown Court today.

Father-of-four Clive Mauger was killed instantly after he was unable to avoid the mattress, and the car he was in hit a tree on the side of the road.

Local media KentOnline reported that Ms Miller, a prison officer, will avoid jail after Judge Julian Smith indicated he would suspend any prison sentence. 

The Court heard that Ms Miller was moving homes and secured the double mattress on top of her car with five "bungee" cords. She was driving about 50 to 55mph on the A229 dual carriageway at Blue Bell Hill when she heard a loud crack. 

She saw Mr Mauger's car crash into a tree on the side of the road after he was unable to swerve out of the way of the mattress. Ms Miller was charged with causing death by dangerous driving but she pleaded guilty to the alternative charge of causing death by careless driving. 

Mr Mauger, who was a widower after his wife Maria Alice died many years ago, was buried in Jersey in March 2017. His family raised money at the time to help bring his body back home.