Woman given two and a half years for killing a man

A woman was handed a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence on Thursday after being found guilty of driving the wrong way up a highway while drunk and killing an oncoming driver.

The woman was driving on the highway between Limassol and Nicosia near the village of Moni in the early hours of October 30, 2021, when she collided head-on with the car of Ahmed Saeed.

She had driven a total of eight kilometres the wrong way up the highway before colliding with Saeed’s car. She was found to be three times over the legal alcohol limit to drive following the collision.

Explaining her decision, judge Dora Varoshiotou spoke of the “serious dimension” which road traffic collisions have taken in Cyprus and said it is “necessary” for drivers to comply with the law.

She also pointed out the fact the woman was drunk when the collision occurred, saying, “this action is extremely serious given the clear disregard she showed for the safety of both herself and other road users.”

“Drunk driving significantly affects a driver’s ability to drive, to control a vehicle, as well as their judgment and reflexes, making the risk of harm to the driver themselves and to others probable and foreseeable.

“Unfortunately, in the case before me, the danger did not remain just a potential but turned into a reality with the tragic consequences of which we are aware,” she said.

She then spoke of the distance the woman had driven the wrong way down the road, as well as the positions put forward by the defence.

“I consider it very serious that the accused drove for eight kilometres the wrong way down the highway. This was thoughtless, dangerous and reckless. The defence’s suggestion that the fact the visibility of 250 metres would have enabled the victim to get out of the way is certainly not accepted,” she said.

She added, “it was clearly not expected from the victim, during that anxious moment when he saw the defendant’s vehicle coming towards him on the wrong side of the highway, to make any manoeuvres to avoid the collision.”

She did, however, point to mitigating factors which she had considered, including the fact that the woman had twice tried to end her life.

“I also have in mind that the accused has been given an increased dosage of prescription drugs and anti-depressants in an attempt to suppress her self-destructive tendencies,” Varoshiotou said.

She added, “I consider that an immediate custodial sentence will cause her further mental distress” and that this, in relation to her “difficult childhood years” and her “personal circumstances” counted in her favour.

“I have also taken into account the fact that the defendant only recently got married and is trying to balance her life with the support of her husband. Additionally, I have in mind that as a result of her driving behaviour, the accused has suffered serious physical injuries,” she said.

She also decreed that the woman “receive appropriate medical care and psychological support” while in prison.