A 95-year-old driver who struck and killed a 78-year-old woman outside a Tesco Express store has been given a suspended jail sentence. Joan Barwick, reportedly the oldest female driver involved in a fatal accident in the UK, hit Linda Wareham while turning her car into a petrol station on April 17, 2025. Wareham suffered fatal head injuries and passed away in the hospital the following day.
Barwick admitted to causing death by dangerous driving and received a 16-month suspended sentence at Wolverhampton Crown Court. Prosecutors revealed that Barwick, who was 94 at the time, failed to pay attention while aiming for a vacant disabled parking spot outside the Tesco Express in Oldswinford, West Midlands. The court heard that she did not see Wareham in time, despite having seven seconds to react.
The judge described the incident as a momentary lapse of concentration, emphasizing that Wareham was blameless and had the right of way. Barwick, with an otherwise clean driving record, was found guilty of not exercising proper caution and failing to yield to a pedestrian. Despite being fit to drive and showing remorse, Barwick was disqualified from driving for 10 years and received a suspended sentence due to her age and lack of prior convictions.
Barwick, attired in a purple cardigan and a floral top while carrying a black cane, was also banned from driving for a decade.