Joanna Maynard, 44, was attempting a three point turn and thought she ran over and killed Elsie Sprague, 87,

A woman who ran over a pensioner after taking a cocktail of prescription drugs has been spared jail.

Joanna Maynard, 44, was attempting a three point turn and thought she had just hit the kerb when she ran over and killed Elsie Sprague, 87, in Leytonstone, east London.

The driver tested positive for cocaine but was under the prescribed limit, the Old Bailey heard.

Maynard had reversed 40 yards down the road to find a space to perform the turn with one of her wing mirrors folded against the car.

She struck Mrs Sprague in her Land Rover Freelander but drove over her body thinking she had bumped up against the pavement.

Maynard drove over her a second time when she moved forward to complete the manoeuvre, the court heard.

Maynard eventually realised what had happened and called an ambulance, but Mrs Sprague was pronounced dead at the scene.

Maynard, from Walthamstow, admitted causing death by careless driving and sobbed as she was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years.

The driver tested positive for cocaine but was under the prescribed limit at the time of the crash, the court heard.

Maynard had been visiting a friend, Deborah Smith, who was a passenger in the car at the time of the collision.

It was only as she was preparing to drive forward to leave that Maynard realised Mrs Sprague was on the ground.

At a previous hearing, prosecutor Robert Chamber said: ‘The defendant was tested at the time and came back positive for cocaine to the amount of not less than 7mg. This is below the specified limit of 10mg per litre.

‘She also tested positive for benzoylecgonine [BZE, a cocaine metabolite] and this was for 200mg per litre, which is greater than the 50mg per litre limit.’

Maynard denies ever taking cocaine in her life and it was agreed the BZE was probably a byproduct of her medication for bipolar disorder and depression.

Her previous sentencing hearing in September was adjourned because she was so distressed, and the court heard that a week after the accident Maynard tried to take her own life.

Maynard sobbed loudly in the corridor before the hearing and was allowed to sit in the well of the court with her mother rather than in the dock.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, John Sprague said: ‘My mother was fiercely independent and she enjoyed going on the bus to the shops in Ilford and Woodford.

‘She was always immaculately turned out - she visited the hairdresser every week and she never left the house without her hair up or without makeup or lipstick.

‘She would pop in for a cup of tea often and Mother’s Day and her birthday were particularly difficult - Christmas will also be hard.

‘I am finding it very hard to come to terms with the way my mother died - I feel guilty that I wasn’t there when it happened and helpless that there was nothing I could do.

‘Going to the morgue to identify her body was horrific and I keep getting flashbacks.’

‘Mum was in great health and I thought there were a number of Christmases that we could still enjoy together.’

Sentencing, Judge Peter Rook QC said: ‘It’s clear that the victim’s family have been profoundly affected by her loss, you reversed in the cul de sac in order to be able to drive out forward.

‘Probably Mrs Sprague thought the driver had seen her and would wait.

‘It was your responsibility to take note of the limitations of your visions through the rear window, you reversed without a wing mirror for some distance, about 30 metres.’

He continued: ‘Effectively you took a chance when you knew there was a risk - you reversed over her causing the car to go up then drove over her again..’

‘I’ve no doubt you felt devastated at the time and still feel devastated and I’ve no doubt your remorse and your apology to the family are genuine.’

Maynard was also banned from driving for eight years, but she had vowed never to get behind the wheel again.

In interview, Maynard said she had checked her mirrors and saw no one.

She said she was aware there might have been a blind spot but didn’t open her wing mirrors.

Bruce Clark, defending said: ‘One off-side wing mirror was pushed down. She looked over her shoulder.

‘She clearly reversed down the road, but not in a dangerous fashion.

‘The elderly lady did not look and stepped out into the street.

Mr Clark had been taking a large number of different medications for her bipolar disorder at the time of the incident, including oxycodone, a powerful painkiller.

He added: ‘She swears to me that she has never taken cocaine in her life.

‘She alleges that some of the medication [she was taking] was cocaine-based.

‘She has a letter from her GP which says she was fit to drive.

‘If the doctor thinks someone should not be driving, then they can always contact the DVLA and say so.

‘As to the cocaine, she is under the limit by a good half.

‘Mrs Sprague didn’t look and she [Maynard] didn’t have a wing mirror open, they are the two contributing factors in this case.

‘Ms Maynard caused the ambulance to be caused immediately, she covered her with blankets and she stayed with her.