A woman has been jailed for causing the death of a 'beloved' former headteacher after crashing head-on into her car while driving the wrong way down a motorway slip road.
Ann Marie Crook, 43, turned into oncoming traffic on the M57 near Kirkby, Merseyside, in her black Renault Clio before hitting 64-year-old Paula Kingdon's Honda Jazz.
Ms Kingdon, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, died of her injuries after being rushed to hospital while Crook, of St Helens, was left fighting for her life after the crash.
Ann Marie Crook, 42, was jailed for life having admitting causing the death by dangerous driving of Paula Kingdon, 64 on October 31, 2019. She was also banned for driving for five years and three months at Liverpool Crown Court
Paula Kingdon, right, who was killed after her car was hit by Ann Marie Cook's Renault Clio in October 2019, was described as a dedicated head teacher at Liverpool Crown Court
Crook, a carer, was jailed for life on Thursday four years, eight months after previously admitting causing death by dangerous driving at Liverpool Crown Court.
She was also banned from driving for five years, three months.
The horror crash happened on October 31, 2019, and saw emergency services rush to the southbound slip road of the M57 at Junction 5.
Ms Kingdon, a retired head teacher, was in the way back from a regular visit to her step-father in Liverpool when Crook ploughed into her car.
The court heard the elderly widow has 'steeply declined physically and mentally' since Ms Kingdon's death.
Prosecutors said Crook drove at up to 94 mph westbound before moving into a right-turn filter lane in the run up to the crash.
Instead of turning right, witnesses watched in horror as she entered the exit slip road of the M57 in the wrong direction.
Crook was jailed for life at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting causing death by dangerous driving. She was also banned from driving for five years, three months
