Frostenden crash: Driver guilty of causing Charlotte Oakes's death

6 May 2021

News image — Charlotte Oakes was "generous, hard-working and always fun to be around", her family said in tribute

Suffolk Police Charlotte Oakes — Charlotte Oakes was "generous, hard-working and always fun to be around", her family said in tribute

A driver involved in a crash has been found guilty of causing the death of her passenger by careless driving.

Charlotte Oakes, 22, from Westleton in Suffolk, died at the scene of the crash on the A12 at Frostenden, near Beccles, on 17 October 2018.

A car driven by Chelcie Lavery, now aged 24 and from High Street, Leiston, collided with a car on the opposite carriageway and ended up in a field.

Lavery is due to be sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on 5 July.

Suffolk Police said Lavery was driving her Peugeot 206 shortly before 18:00 BST when it crossed the central line of the A12, near the junction with Gypsy Lane, and struck the Isuzu D-Max travelling in the other direction.

She was airlifted to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge with injuries after the crash, while the male driver of the Isuzu received minor cuts and bruises.

Ms Oakes's family paid tribute to a "generous, hardworking" woman, who was "a much-loved member of the local community".

They said: "As a family, we miss her stories and her laughter.

"We feel her loss every day and in everything we do."

Lavery was given an interim disqualification from driving ahead of her sentencing.