Caroline Hoy jailed over road rage deaths of couple Published duration 4 February 2015

image caption Rose and Bob Simpson died after being hit by Hoy's Toyota car

A woman who knocked down and killed an elderly couple by overtaking at a pedestrian crossing has been jailed.

Bob and Rose Simpson, aged 87 and 84, died when they were knocked down by Caroline Hoy in Largs, Ayrshire, in August 2013.

Hoy, of Saltcoats, was jailed for 16 months after admitting driving without due care and attention.

She had been angered by the slowness of the car in front and sped past glaring at the driver and making hand gestures.

She failed to spot Mr and Mrs Simpson, who had been married for 66 years, as they were crossing the road.

Mr Simpson was killed outright while his wife was airlifted to Glasgow's Southern General Hospital, where she later died.

CCTV images showed Hoy's red Toyota speeding through Largs at 43mph in a 30mph zone.

Family impact

Sheriff Iona McDonald told Hoy her conduct had been at the "higher end" of careless driving and the stretch of road had not been particularly dangerous.

She added: "I was shown CCTV evidence prior to the accident, which showed you driving over the speed limit before the pelican crossing and unable to stop and have time to avoid Mr and Mrs Simpson.

"It is important to realise the impact on the Simpson family. They were parents and grandparents, with many friends, and they are all devastated and traumatised by this tragic accident."

Speaking after the tragedy, Mr and Mrs Simpson's son Joe, 57, said it was fitting that they died together, as one could not have gone on without the other.

He added: "It's hard for us to take that they are both gone but in a way it's better that one of them did not have to suffer that devastating loss.

"They would have been holding hands when they crossed the road and were hit by the car. It's just the kind of loving couple they were."

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