Driver who kills pedestrian and seriously injures two others in Fareham restaurant car park is spared prison

Sushia Philpott, 76, went to Kams Palace in Bridge Road, Park Gate, on July 20 last year to enjoy a lunchtime meal with friends before a luxury cruise trip when disaster struck on a warm summer's day around 1.45pm.

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Portsmouth Crown Court heard how Philpott, of Cottes Way, Fareham, got back in her Hyundai Santa Fe to re-park it while her friends made their way into the Chinese restaurant. The court heard it was “unclear what happened” but “loud revving and a bang” were heard before Philpott ran into the restaurant screaming for help.

People rushed outside to help where it was discovered three people had been injured following a collision with Philpott’s car as ambulances, police cars and an air ambulance swamped the scene to deal with the incident. Those hurt were taken to hospital where Hue Minh Rushton, 68, of Gosport, later died of her injuries. Arthur Austin, 84, of Gosport, was in a critical condition but survived. A 66-year-old Gosport woman was seriously injured before being discharged.

Philpott admitted a charge of causing death by careless/inconsiderate driving and a charge of causing serious injury by careless/inconsiderate driving.

Investigations into the mysterious incident later revealed that Philpott - who “did not understand what happened” - had suffered a bout of sudden acceleration syndrome. This is when a driver panics and hits the accelerator instead of the brake in an automatic car. “The momentary lapse of concentration caused her to push the wrong pedal,” Jane Sargison, defending, said.

Police checks revealed Philpott’s car was in a safe condition and she was fit to drive and not intoxicated. The court heard how Philpott had helped with Ms Rushton’s funeral, whose family had shown “extraordinary empathy” and the “best of humanity” to do so, according to judge Richard Shepherd, who added: “This is one of the most heartbreaking cases I’ve ever had to sentence.”

Citing the cause of the crash, the judge said: “The cause of this crash was sudden acceleration syndrome related to automatic vehicles when the accelerator is pushed instead of the brake and the brain says ‘push harder’ and you compound the original mistake.”

The judge said references of Philpott “spoke of her in glowing terms” with her “remorse palpable” and her “destroyed” by the tragedy, with her admitting: “I wish it was me (who died).”

Deciding on whether to jail Philpott, judge Shepherd said: “Ms Philpott is prepared to go to prison for what she did but I note the victim statements pleading with the court not to send her to prison. My job is to do justice in the case and in my judgement justice is achieved by making the term of imprisonment suspended.”

Philpott was handed a 10-month sentence suspended for two years with 200 hours unpaid work. She was disqualified from driving for five years and told to pay costs of £425 and a surcharge.

Kams Palace manager Tom Chow said at the time: “We have been here for 25 years – this is the first time something like that has happened here. It’s very, very sad news.

‘‘It’s a car park – I don’t know how an accident happened. We want to know what happened as well. We haven’t been told anything.”