Devon dad fell asleep at the wheel in fatal crash

A father who fell asleep while driving his children home caused the death of a 70-year-old woman in a head-on collision, a court has heard.

Exeter Crown Court heard how the vehicle Jason Rana was driving crashed into Renate Soltys's car after he failed to negotiate a bend on the B3230 at Muddiford, North Devon, in June 2023.

Judge Anna Richardson heard how Rana, 39, of Gould Road, Barnstaple, woke up just before the 100mph (161 kmph) impact collision as his vehicle ended up on the wrong side of the road.

The chartered accountant admitted causing death by careless driving and was sentenced to an 18-month community order and told to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Rana told paramedics at the scene that he had been up since 06:00 BST and "felt his eyes go and must have fallen asleep", the court heard.

Prosecutor Peter Coombe said Rana had taken his six-year-old and three-year-old twins to the beach on a family trip.

Mr Coombe said one child suffered a broken arm and chest wounds in the crash.

Victoria Bastock, defending, said Rana was full of remorse for the tragic outcome of the incident.

The court heard how Rana cried and kept apologising to his young children at the crash site.

He told police he "nodded off and was gutted by what happened" to the victim.

Ms Soltys died instantly from catastrophic brain injuries and other wounds.

Judge Anna Richardson said: "There was a momentary lapse of consciousness.

"This incident was utterly out of character for you."

Rana, who has no previous convictions, was also banned from driving for 12 months.

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