A woman was driving with medication prescribed over the internet which made her sleepy when she crashed head-on into an oncoming car, killing the driver, a court has heard.

Alicia Clarke, 49, was suffering from undiagnosed post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - as a result of having suffered nine miscarriages - at the time of a fatal crash on the A143 at Thorpe Abbotts, near Diss when Michelle Overy was killed.

It follows a collision on December 18, 2020, when the Mercedes GLC 220 Clarke was driving was involved in a crash with Mrs Overy's Ford C-Max.

The Central Criminal Court in London heard Clarke had taken medication prescribed over the internet, including pregabalin and Xanax, for her anxiety at the time.

Barnaby Shaw, prosecuting, said Clarke's car had been on the wrong side of the road when it "made impact with a car driving in the opposite direction" giving Mrs Overy "no chance".

He said other motorists had noticed Clarke "weaving" prior to the crash.

Mr Shaw said Clarke, a mother of three, had bought medication online since 2017 with her having taken pregabalin and Xanax, on the day of the fatal crash.

The court heard a "combination of drugs would, more likely than not, impaired her ability to drive".

Clarke, from Bury Road, Wortham, near Diss, appeared at the Old Bailey for sentence on Tuesday (November 7) having previously admitted causing death by dangerous driving.

Jailing Clarke for two-and-a-half years Judge Anthony Bate said the offence was "so serious only immediate custody could be justified.

Before Clarke was sentenced the court heard a statement from Mrs Overy's former husband who said for him and their two sons "our lives will never be the same without her".

James Leonard KC, mitigating, said at the time of the crash Clark had been "self-medicating" as she had been "suffering from undiagnosed complex post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Mr Leonard said she had used "poor judgement to put it mildly" in taking the medication to deal with matters of a "deeply personal nature".

He said these included her having suffered "no less than nine miscarriages".

Clarke was also disqualified from driving for 39 months.

Mrs Overy, 45, who worked as a teaching assistant at the Limes Primary Academy in Oulton Broad, died as a result of multiple injuries following the crash.

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23908431.woman-jailed-fatal-head-on-crash-a143-near-diss/

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