Driver admits causing death of University of Northampton student

Gemma Stanley, aged 19, was killed in an accident on the A361 at Ashby St Ledgers in June last year, when a Ford Focus she was a passenger in collided with a Range Rover travelling in the opposite direction.

Miss Stanley died at the scene.

The driver of the Focus, Neil Murray, admitted causing death by careless driving at Northampton Crown Court on Thursday.

Miss Stanley, from Coventry, had been studying for a degree in Early Childhood Studies and had just completed her first year of the three-year course. She lived in halls of residence at the university’s Park Campus.

Alexandra Bull, prosecuting, said: “There is a suggestion the accident could have been caused by inattentiveness.

“He was going round a sharp bend, came into contact with the kerb, and had to over-correct. “This put him into the pathway of the oncoming Range Rover.”

The court heard Murray was not under the influence of drink or drugs, and was not using his mobile phone.

The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report and will return to the same court next month. Murray, aged 24, of Ashlawn Road, Rugby, was released on bail.