Baby needs lifelong care after campervan hit car

A campervan owner who crashed into a car full of holidaymakers when she lost control, leaving a baby needing lifelong care, has avoided a prison sentence.

Rachel Pyrah, 45, was ordered to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work at York Crown Court earlier after admitting two counts of causing serious injury by careless driving.

Pyrah, who lives in her motorhome, hit a curb on the B6265 at Fellbeck near Pateley Bridge on 31 May 2024.

She then struck a car carrying a family on a glamping holiday, and the 14-month-old suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Pyrah, from Lincolnshire, was also banned from driving for 12 months by the court.

Her blue Peugeot Boxer campervan was travelling towards Glasshouses when it collided with the Volkswagen T-Roc heading in the opposite direction.

Pyrah was on holiday at the time and the family in the T-Roc were booked into a campsite near Ripon.

The court heard that the defendant's vehicle struck the T-Roc, which span round and came to rest against a wall, while her motorhome overturned and landed on its roof.

She told a traffic constable she "was going down the hill" and had clipped the kerb and lost control.

In an initial police interview, she said she was driving at between 40 and 50mph and believed "something happened to the vehicle", but was unable to give any further details.

The baby was taken to Leeds General Infirmary and was in hospital for 19 days, three of which were spent in critical care.

The court was told the child would require lifelong multi-disciplinary care.

A teenage girl in the car was also treated for a deep head wound which left her with a scar.

Sentencing, Recorder Paul Reid said Pyrah had expressed remorse and had pleaded guilty.

She had no previous convictions and references had described her as a "safe and considerate" driver.

He said it was "undoubtedly" the case that she had hit the kerb.

"It is in my view a perfectly possible conclusion that you saw these vehicles and may well have moved slightly to the near side to ensure you could pass with care."

He said the result had been her losing control and careering across the road into the T-Roc with "catastrophic" and "shocking" results.

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