Shropshire woman jailed over death crash lies
A mother-of-two from Telford who lied to police about being the driver of a car involved in a crash that killed a motorist and a horse has been jailed.
Latvian-born Liga Jaskova initially told officers she had been driving the Volkswagen Passat which witnesses said they saw involved in a "high-speed race" with a Fiat through country roads around Shifnal.
The Fiat, driven by Armands Ozolins, 26, of Great Chatwell, near Newport, crashed into a hedge in Stump Lane, Weston Heath, near Shifnal. Mr Ozolins suffered severe injuries and died in hospital the next day.
A horse was also killed in the crash and the rider, Wendy Garrett, lost a finger and suffered serious cuts and bruises.
Jaskova, 30, of Turreff Avenue, Donnington, told police she was driving the other car and was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving and driving without insurance.
But she later retracted her statement, which she said she had made under pressure from others, and pleaded guilty instead to a charge of perverting the course of justice.
She was jailed for 14 months at Stafford Crown Court yesterday.
Latvian-born disqualified driver Helmuts Punovskis, also of Turreff Avenue, was seen cradling Mr Ozolins at the crash scene before speeding off in the Passat. He was charged with the more serious offence of causing death by dangerous driving, and jailed for 12 years last month.
During sentencing at Shrewsbury Crown Court, Judge Jonathan Gosling said Punovskis had "acted carelessly and selfishly", and had shown "no remorse" for the accident.
