American tourist spared jail for causing fatal crash after driving on the wrong side of the road

Caroline Bourgois Emmet, 56, was bound for Edinburgh Airport when she emerged from the Archerfield Estate onto the A198 road between Dirleton and Gullane.  With two children and two other women in her car, the tourist drove westwards for 500 metres on the eastbound side of the road before the fatal collision.

On July 19, 2017 she crashed into a vehicle in which Elizabeth Henderson was a back seat passenger.

Mrs Henderson, 83, of North Berwick, died two days later in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. She suffered multiple pelvis and limb fractures and internal bleeding.

Her husband William, who was driving, and another passenger, Christine Fraser, were injured.

On Tuesday, a judge deferred sentence on Emmet until November next year after she agreed to carry out 500 hours of unpaid work with two charities in France, where she lives.

Lord Glennie told Emmet: “You have been convicted by the jury of causing death by dangerous driving. Your victim was in her 80s and possibly quite frail, but that in no way diminishes the sense of loss felt by those close to her.”

The judge said at the High Court in Edinburgh: “The statements I have seen from her son and her daughter confirm that the loss of a loved one, whatever age and state of health, is always a tragedy for family and friends.”

Lord Glennie banned Emmet from driving for three years and ordered she resit a test before driving again.

The judge said he accepted that Emmet’s offending did not feature aggravating issues such as drink or drug driving, driving too fast or using a mobile phone.

Lord Glennie said that the tragedy in Emmet’s case was that she drove on the wrong side of the road approaching a blind corner with another vehicle coming the other way unseen.

He said that Emmet’s previous driving record was exemplary and added: “You have shown remorse which I accept is genuine”.

The judge said he also took account of the needs of her child. Emmet provides care for her 14-year-old son, who has suffered medical problems from a young age.

Lord Glennie told Emmet: “Had you been resident in the UK, I would have considered imposing on you a community payback order with a requirement for you to carry out unpaid work in the community.”

He said he was aware of a previous case where an EU citizen was allowed to return to his homeland and carry out such work.

Lord Glennie said he considered that if Emmet did unpaid work with two charities in France it would be “worthwhile and important work”. He said he expected to receive reports confirming that she had carried out the task satisfactorily.

Emmet, an American citizen who is resident in France, was heading for Edinburgh Airport with two other women and two children in a hire car when the crash occurred.

Emmet, of Rue Pierre Haret, Paris, had earlier denied causing the death of Mrs Henderson by driving dangerously on the opposing side of the carriageway and into the path of the oncoming vehicle, but was convicted of the offence.

The granddaughter of the composer Irving Berlin, she had previously offered to plead guilty to the lesser offence of causing death by careless driving, but the Crown put her to trial on the more serious charge.

Emmet, a mother of one, told the court that she had never driven on the left-hand side of the road prior to the trip to Scotland for a friend’s birthday.

She said she had driving experience in the USA, continental Europe and South America.

When she arrived in Edinburgh, she rented a car and a friend met her at the airport so that the first time she drove on the left she would not be alone. She used the hired VW Golf on other excursions.

She told the court that she had not been on the stretch of road where the fatal crash occurred previously.

She said when she set off to drive back to the airport, she thought she was on the correct side of the road and slowed at a bend.

Emmet said: “I remember seeing the car coming at me.”

She said she did not have time to take evasive action to avoid the car being driven by Mr Henderson.

She later sent a message to a police officer identifying herself as the driver who “accidentally provoked” the collision.

She said she felt terrible about the incident and hoped with all her heart that those injured were recovering.

The former communications consultant said she then learnt that there had been a fatality, leaving her completely devastated.

The court heard that Mrs Henderson, who had pre-existing medical conditions, died from complications of multiple injuries sustained in the crash.

Defence counsel Ian Duguid QC urged the judge to take an exceptional course in Emmet’s case.

He said she constantly relives the experience involving her “lack of concentration” that led to the collision.

He said that Emmet’s son was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when he was only months old and his mother was heavily involved in his subsequent care needs.