A Shropshire mother found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving today walked free from court – after the father of the teenager killed in the smash pleaded for her not to be sent to jail.

Judge Simon Tonking said the case of Kirsty Williams was so “exceptional” that a suspended jail sentence was appropriate.

He sentenced her to 12 months in prison suspended for two years.

In sentencing Williams, of Telford, who was convicted following a trial of causing the death of Jonathan Humphreys by dangerous driving, Judge Tonking said he had given due consideration to all the mitigating factors – including a letter sent to the court by the victim’s father.

Judge Tonking said: “Your case is a most difficult one and my aim is to temper justice with mercy.”

Williams was also banned from driving for two years and given a six-month curfew order between the hours of 4pm and 4am.

The court heard Mr Humphreys’s father Mark said in the letter it would be “a waste of another young life” if Williams was put behind bars and expressed hope she could get her life back together.

The 20-year-old, of Baldwin Webb Avenue, Donnington, was the driver of a Vauxhall Corsa, which swerved over to the other side of the road and smashed into a BMW in Huffley Lane, near Shrewsbury, in January 2008.

Williams and her three passengers were returning to college from a trip to McDonalds in Shrewsbury when she lost control on the bend. One of her passengers, Jonathan, 17, of Baschurch, died as a result of the accident, while the other two passengers, Lance Thompson and Lee Williams, suffered a broken leg and a broken hip respectively.

Stafford Crown Court heard Williams had also been seriously injured as a result of the crash and was now registered disabled.

Mr Jonathan Edwards, for Williams, said she had recently given birth to a son.

He added: “This is a case where the public may feel or the court may feel an instinct towards mercy.”

By Wayne Beese