Caitlyn Ford: South West woman fined $750 for causing serious car crash over phone falling from car roof

A 24-year-old South West woman has been told her life is worth more than her mobile phone after copping fines for causing a car crash that left her with severe injuries. Caitlyn Ford appeared in Bunbury Magistrates Court on Monday where she was fined $750 after pleading guilty to careless driving. The court was told Ford was travelling east on South Western Highway in her Toyota Corolla towards the intersection at Donnybrook-Boyup Brook Road during the afternoon of August 25 when she entered a slip-lane indicating to turn left. However, instead of turning left, Ford immediately executed a U-turn, causing a nearby prime mover carrying a trailer to swerve to the right as an evasive action to avoid a collision. The prime mover and Ford’s Corolla collided with extensive damage caused to both vehicles. While the truck driver avoided serious injury, Ford suffered a broken collarbone, a fractured skull and multiple lacerations. In submissions, the court was told Ford, who had a provisional licence at the time, had realised she left her mobile phone on the roof of her car for several minutes and went to make a U-turn in an effort to retrieve the phone after it fell off. It was also submitted that Ford accepted full responsibility for causing the crash and acknowledged the outcome could have been much worse for herself and the truck driver. In sentencing, Magistrate Linda Keane said the matter was a “real example of the need to keep automatic reactions in check” and that photos taken from the incident made the case file look like “it could be a coronial file”. “It’s a mobile phone, your life is worth so much more than that,” she told Ford. “We see these sorts of crashes so often and it is tragic to see how easy it is for it to be much worse.” Along with the fine, Ford was ordered to pay court costs.