Woman who caused deadly pile-up while driving Range Rover Evoque at 127mph cleared ‘by reason of insanity’

Psychiatrists found Jill Higgins had ‘episode of mania’ before collision which killed Daniel Dayalan

Cleared: Ms Higgins leaving the Old Bailey (Central News)

A woman who was driving at speeds of up to 127mph in her Range Rover Evoque when she crashed into two cars has been cleared of causing death by dangerous driving “by reason of insanity”.

Jill Higgins was haring along the M25 at almost 60mph over the limit when she lost control, London’s Old Bailey heard.

Just before the crash in September 2017, other motorists had taken evasive action because she appeared “out of control”, prosecutor Michelle Heeley told the court.

The 54-year-old widow’s SUV was fitted with a camera that captured the collision near Enfield, north London.

It captured the moment her Range Rover first collided with a Ford C-Max, before careering into a Vauxhall Corsa being driven by Daniel Dayalan, forcing his car into a concrete wall.

The 60-year-old died from multiple injuries and his wife Niromi, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was also seriously injured.

There was no dispute that Ms Higgins’ driving was dangerous and caused the injuries to the Dayalans, Ms Heeley told the court.

Daniel Dayalan, who died in a road crash near Enfield (Metropolitan Police)

She said the real issue was the woman’s state of mind at the time.

Ms Higgins, from Warrington, Cheshire, was seen to be “behaving oddly” after the crash and was admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act.

In a later interview with police, she said she had been experiencing difficulties since the death of her husband.

Two psychiatrists concluded that, at the time of the fatal collision, she was suffering from “an episode of mania with psychotic symptoms”.

The jury found her not guilty of death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Following her acquittal, defence barrister Andrew Nuttall said Ms Higgins was now “much better”.

He told the court: “She has been rather traumatised by what took place at that time and there is no doubt that she feels a responsibility, although she did not know what she was doing at the time.”

Handing Ms Higgins a two-year supervision order, Judge Richard Marks QC said it was an “unusual and extremely sad case”.

The judge added: “It has been obviously tragic in the extreme for the Dayalan family. Of course, nothing that I can say or do can undo what has happened or can bring him back. It’s just sadly a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Additional reporting by PA