An 82-year-old woman who accidentally caused the death of a lifelong friend by pushing the wrong car pedal has been handed a community order.
A series of errors from Patricia Tulip caused fatal injuries to her passenger, Joyce Nainby, outside the 80-year-old's home in Gosforth, Newcastle.
A court heard the defendant's Skoda Roomster had started to roll backwards after parking, at which point Tulip - realising she had left it in reverse instead of neutral and had not applied the handbrake properly - got back inside.
Instead of braking, the pensioner pressed on the accelerator by mistake and the vehicle hurtled backwards towards grandmother-of-six Mrs Nainby, who was hit by the open side door.
Mrs Nainby was knocked unconscious and rushed to hospital. She died 10 days after the accident happened on September 18 last year.
Prosecutors at Newcastle Crown Court said the pair were best friends at school around 70 years ago.
They had been driving back together from a school reunion before the incident happened, the court heard.
Tulip admitted causing death by careless driving and was told she will have to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
Sentencing her on Tuesday, Judge Amanda Rippon said: "As a result of a series of careless errors by you, your car very sadly became the implement responsible for your old and great friend's tragic death.
"Although she was 80, she was fit and she was active, and she had every reason to expect many more years with her family."
Tulip was banned from driving for three years - but the court heard that she gave up her licence immediately after the accident.
Shaun Routledge, defending, said Tulip, who wore a purple coat and wiped tears away during the hearing, had written a letter of condolence to her friend's family.
"I have not come across, in over 30 years, a set of facts or circumstances that are similar to these," he told the court.
Following the sentencing, Mrs Nainby's family said in a statement they were disappointed by the defendant's failure to take responsibility earlier.
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They said: "Whilst we accept that the events of that day were a tragic accident caused through Mrs Tulip's carelessness, every action and decision made by her beyond that date has been made without any respect or consideration whatsoever for the feelings of our family.
"As a friend of our Mum's, we didn't seek punishment for Mrs Tulip, all we ever wanted was an acceptance of responsibility.
"Maybe naively, we expected her to 'do the right thing' from the start but, as that was not the case, we had no option other than to support a prosecution through the courts."
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