A PREGNANT mum-of-two has been jailed for a year for causing the death of a 'highly intelligent and compassionate' mental health nurse by driving carelessly in the Cotswolds.

Justyna Witomska, 35, of Downham Way, Bromley, London, had no valid licence or insurance when she took her husband’s car without his consent to drive to Hereford, accompanied by her young daughter and niece, on January 26 last year, a court heard yesterday (May 6).

The trip was cut short by tragedy when Witomska collided with another car on the A436 Cirencester-Cheltenham road in Gloucestershire and the other driver, Rose Harvey, 30, was killed instantly.

David Scutt, prosecuting, told Gloucester Crown Court that Witomska had set out on the ill-fated shortly shortly after 6am that day to "resolve a situation over a puppy that she had sold to somebody in Hereford."

“At around 8.30am on that Sunday morning she was driving along the A436 at Seven Springs in a Vauxhall Insignia when she collided with a Volkswagen Golf driven by Rose Harvey," said the prosecutor.

“Tragically the victim was a 30-year-old nurse who sustained multiple injuries and was killed immediately.

“Witomska’s car crossed over into the oncoming carriageway. She told the police she had been having a conversation with her niece about schooling and had momentary taken her eyes off the road.

“Ms Harvey had taken evasive action by steering to the nearside carriageway, but the reality is that Witomska crossed the central lines 1.4 seconds before the collision giving little room for any reaction time.”

Gareth James, defending, said: "She made a serious error of judgement and has since shown a lot of remorse.

“She is the mother of two children and is expecting her third towards the end of the year. "

Witomska pleaded guilty to causing the death of Ms Harvey by careless driving on the A436 at Seven Springs and having no valid insurance or a driving licence on January 26, 2020.

In jailing Witomska to a prison term of one year, Judge Lawrie said: “The consequence of your thoughtless actions has been the untimely death of Rose and all the attendant distress to her family. In addition you put your daughter and niece at serious risk of injury.

“I have considered if your sentence can be suspended and I have concluded that the appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody.”

The judge also disqualified Witomska from driving for two-and-a-half years and ordered her to pay a victim surcharge of £149.