Driver who failed to stop after fatal e-scooter crash warned she may face jail

A driver has been warned she could face jail after she admitted to failing to stop at the scene of a crash which killed two children who were riding an e-scooter.

Roman Casselden, 16, and his nine-year-old sister Darcie Casselden were pronounced dead at the scene in Ashlyns, Pitsea, Essex, on February 1 last year.

Deimante Ziobryte, of Benfleet, has pleaded guilty to failing to stop at the scene of a collision.

The 21-year-old, who is pregnant, wore a black dress and had her long blonde hair down as she appeared before Basildon Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

She spoke to confirm her name, date of birth and address before she was asked to enter her plea to the single charge – to which she said “guilty”.

The charge, read by the clerk of the court, said that Ziobryte was the driver of an Audi A1 which failed to stop following an accident which caused injury to Roman and Darcie.

Prosecutor Rohini Majumdar said Ziobryte was driving a car which was involved in a collision with an e-scooter which the two youths were driving.

She said: “They came towards a junction.

“The defendant swerved to avoid a collision but unfortunately they made contact and the two youths on the e-scooter have suffered fatal injuries as a result.”

She said Ziobryte “continued to drive and didn’t stop” until later when she “made multiple calls to family members but not to police or emergency services”.

“At no point did the defendant return to the scene of the collision to speak to police,” Ms Majumdar said.

She said Ziobryte had no previous convictions.

Prosecutors had asked at an earlier hearing for time to consider whether any further charges would be brought.

Ms Majumdar said on Friday that there were “no other charges being made today”.

Essex Police said in an earlier update that Ziobryte would face no further action in relation to a possible offence of causing death by dangerous driving.

Police said the e-scooter was privately owned.

Ziobryte’s representative in court asked for the case to be adjourned for pre-sentence reports, and said Ziobryte was pregnant.

Presiding magistrate Paul Fisher bailed Ziobryte until May 6 when she is due to be sentenced at Basildon Magistrates’ Court.

He warned Ziobryte: “We can’t rule out a term of imprisonment.”

He added: “We are going to impose a discretionary disqualification from today.

“That means you can’t drive any car on any road as you are disqualified by the court.”

He said the length of the disqualification would be decided at her sentencing.

Inquests into the deaths of Roman and Darcie, which were opened and suspended last year pending the outcome of the police investigation, heard that both siblings died of traumatic head injury.

Essex area coroner Michelle Brown, who opened the inquests separately in Chelmsford in February, said the pair had been “travelling on an e-scooter” which was “involved in a collision with a motor vehicle that was travelling east along Ashlyns approaching Stokefelde”.

The coroner said emergency services attended and Darcie was pronounced dead at 7.10pm and Roman at 7.50pm.

She gave the provisional cause of death for each child as “traumatic head injury pending further investigation”.

The children’s mother Emma said in a statement released through police that “their love, kindness and spirit live on in the hearts of all who knew them”.