Video: The moment William Tomlinson overtook a car on the A46, causing Jessica Wallace’s silver Ford Focus, on the right of the picture, to swerve and crash
The moment a driver caused a Nottinghamshire road crash which killed a young woman 10 weeks before her wedding was captured on a dashboard camera.
Jessica Wallace, from Newark, was driving on the A46 Fosse Road near Farndon when she saw a car driven by William Tomlinson carelessly try to overtake another car and stray into her lane.
It caused Jessica, 28, to swerve and lose control of her Ford Focus, which then crashed head on into a lorry on May 22, 2015.
Police have now released a video showing the key seconds before the crash as Jessica’s mother pleaded with other drivers to avoid ‘aggressive’ overtaking.
Tomlinson’s manoeuvre was caught on the dash board camera of a lorry behind him. It shows him overtake another driver and miss Jessica’s car by inches, which then swerves as she reacts to avoid him.
The movement caused her to lose control. She died instantly in the crash that followed with another lorry yards behind the one which captured the overtaking on camera.
Patricia Taylor, Jessica’s mother, added: “Our family has been utterly torn apart for the sake of this man shaving three seconds off his journey.
“Jess was devoted to her family, fiance and friends, she loved life and was excited about the future.
“I just hope it makes other drivers think about their actions and the devastation a wrong move could cause.”
Jessica, from Newark, died just 10 weeks before she was due to marry her fiancé. The family had to unravel all the wedding plans while arranging her funeral.
Earlier this month Tomlinson, 59, of The Banks, Kilsby, Northamptonshire, was jailed for 12 months at Northampton Crown Court for causing death by careless driving.
He had denied the charge but was found guilty by unanimous verdict. He was also banned from driving for four years, six months and will have to take a mandatory re-test.
Detective Sergeant James Greely said: “We hope this footage sends the message to drivers to seriously think it through before overtaking.
“This was a very sad case where a woman has lost her life because Tomlinson failed to think about other road users and the consequences of his driving.
“This sentencing result shows that a driver who might not be directly involved in the collision can still be found responsible for causing it and, in this case, taking someone’s life.”
Patricia added: “Jessica was determined, passionate, creative, intelligent, wickedly funny, insightful, empathic and loving.
“She wanted to understand people and the workings of their minds and use this knowledge to help them. Her work in prisoner rehabilitation, many of whom had been damaged by life, was fueled by the desire to prevent further victims.
“She knew the value of a happy, loving home and the good it could do, having experienced her own pain and loss of family members.
“She thrived on knowing and understanding people, knew when others were in emotional pain and helped them.”
Jane Smith, from the Crown Prosecution Service, who brought the case to court, said Tomlinson’s conviction showed “one selfish or impatient decision” could kill.
