Diabetic driver who killed two pensioners in Wembley is jailed
72-year-old Enid Mills smashed into the pensioners in Sudbury as she had a hypoglycaemic episode
A 72-year-old diabetic who killed two pensioners in a road smash has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Enid Mills, of Abbey Close, Pinner, was jailed today for causing the deaths of Alice Cullen, also 72, of Elms Park Avenue, Sudbury, and Helen Brady, 70, from Sudbury Hill, Wembley, after she crashed her car in Sudbury Hill.
Harrow Crown Court heard how Mills should not have been driving the day of the crash because her diabetes levels were dangerously unstable.
Yet despite her illness, Mills drove from her home in Pinner and was heading east in Sudbury Hill when she lost control of her car while suffering from a hypoglycaemic episode.
She mounted the pavement, colliding with lifelong friends Mrs Alice Cullen and Mrs Helen Brady, who were on their way to visit a sick friend.
Both women were pronounced dead at the scene.
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It was revealed in court that Mills had failed to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of the blackouts brought on by her diabetes, and ignored her nurse’s pleas to give up driving.
The families of Alice Cullen and Helen Brady said the deaths were and ‘avoidable tragedy’ and have called for the law to be changed so that an unstable patient can have their driving licence suspended or revoked on the advice of a health professional.
Currently it is the responsibility of the motorist to inform the DVLA if they are unfit to drive.
In a statement released on behalf of both families, they said: “Enid Mills failed to inform the DVLA of her blackouts brought on by her diabetes.
“She selfishly did not want to give up her car as this would force her to be reliant on another mode of transport and restrict her ease of mobility and affect her independence.
“Although the guilty verdict gives our families some closure over our mothers’ deaths, we feel that this tragedy was avoidable.
“Enid Mills is most probably one of many people driving with a medical condition that is putting people’s life at risk. This is an area which can be abused by individuals and needs urgent review.
“We would hate another family to suffer a tragedy like ours and suffer the deep loss felt by the Brady and Cullen families when we lost our loving Mums.”
Mills was found guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving for the crash, in February 2009.
