Teacher guilty of death by dangerous PARKING after baby died when she pulled over to chat to friend

Primary school teacher Lynda Owen, 53, stopped her Ford Ka on a busy bend and crossed the road to chat to a childminder friend.

Moments later, another driver lost control, hit the kerb and veered across the road, mounting the pavement. His car hit the childminder's double buggy.

The impact "wrenched" the buggy from her hands and hurled it over a garden wall.

Eight-month-old Niamh Critchley, who was strapped into its rear seat, suffered fatal injuries.

But childminder Louise Pritchard's own 22-month-old son, Joseph, who was hurled from the front seat, escaped with hardly a scratch.

Mrs Owen was given three points on her licence, fined £250 and ordered to pay £650 costs when she was sentenced by magistrates in Wigan, Greater Manchester.

She had pleaded not guilty to leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position and had told the court she had only intended to leave her car for a minute or two. It was parked 0.7 metres from the kerb on a bend.

The magistrates had heard that while Mrs Owen's actions did not cause the accident on Upholland Road in Billinge, Wigan, last February, but they were a key factor.

Mrs Owen had consistently refused to accept any responsibility for the accident and blamed the other driver.

The court had been told that Anthony Smith, the driver of the car that hit the buggy, had been prosecuted for a driving offence at an earlier appearance.

The court heard evidence from other drivers who spotted the parked Ford - one a driving instructor - who said: "In my opinion it was parked in a very dangerous position. I would never have parked like that."

But Bernard Phelan, defending, said Mrs Owen had checked it was safe to stop, had looked both ways to see if the road was clear and had let two cars pass before she crossed to see Louise.

He said any suggestion that she caused the child's death was "wrong", "inappropriate" and "distorting the facts."

Mr Phelan added: "It is my case that this is about circumstances to which she was not linked, that she is not responsible for, and that she is not at any fault for the tragic events of that day."

Chairman of the Magistrates Robert Farmer said the bench found the prosecution case proved.

He expressed his sympathies for Niamh's family, but added that Mrs Owen's offence was a traffic offence to be taken in isolation.

He said: "Clearly the defendant stopped and parked her vehicle on a bend. It was without question dangerous."

Mrs Owen wept in court after the verdict was announced.