AN ELDERLY driver claimed the body of a Lithuanian woman was already on the roadside after she mounted the pavement and caused her death.

Pertpall Sall accelerated suddenly on the Oxford Road on December 8, 2016, and swerved off the road, striking three pedestrians and a brick wall with her black Ford Focus.

She initially denied causing death and injury by dangerous driving when she was first arrested by police. Instead, the 68-year-old claimed she hit the wrong pedal and turned the wheel to avoid colliding with a bus.

A guilty plea was then entered after waiting for a medical report to be finished.

Sall, of Headley Road, Woodley, was sentenced to 28 months at Reading Crown Court on Monday. She was not wearing her glasses and caused the death of Sonata Saulytyte, 44, who was visiting her niece from Lithuania.

During his sentence, judge Paul Dugdale said no amount of punishment could bring back Ms Saulytyte, or repair the damage done to the other victims.

He added: “Nobody will come out of this as a winner. However difficult it may be the law is created so that if we don’t take sufficient care that those who are careless can accept responsibility.

“You swerved into oncoming traffic on the Oxford Road. It was that maneuver, conscious or unconscious as it may have been, which really is the matter which I have to sentence you for.”

As well as causing the death of one pedestrian, another – Liam Brinkley – suffered life-changing injuries. He had to use crutches for several months after being airlifted to John Radcliffe Hospital.

Picture supplied by Thames Valley Police

Another victim was thrown into the side of a Purple 17 bus and suffered scars and other head injuries.

The court saw distressing dash-cam footage of the accident, which showed the car swerve into oncoming traffic before mounting the pavement at excessive speed.

The judge accepted that Sall had hit the wrong pedal, but decided the impact of the dangerous driving warranted a hefty sentence despite her age.

Barry McElduff, mitigating, described Sall as a pillar of the community with a previously impeccable record.

He also explained how she had lost two family members to traffic collisions and wished she had died instead of Ms Saulytyte.

Her niece said the impact of the crash had been devastating on her family life, as they still blame her for the death. She lives close to the scene and regularly lays flowers in her memory.

Sall admitted to one count of causing death by dangerous driving and another of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

She will serve half of her sentence on licence and was banned from driving for six years.