Jury in death by dangerous driving trial of Maidstone taxi driver Paul Jeffree fails to return verdict
Published: 00:00, 25 January 2016
Updated: 17:30, 25 January 2016
The jury in a trial of a Maidstone taxi driver accused of causing death by dangerous driving has failed to return a verdict.
Paul Jeffree, of Marsham Street, was driving a Vauxhall Zafira on the northbound carriageway of the M3 near Sunbury-on-Thames in Surrey in October 2014 when the fatal crash happened.
His car collided with a Toyota IQ2 being driven by 18-year-old Charlotte Riches, from Basingstoke, which caught alight.
The 58-year-old denied causing her death and seriously injuring her passenger Tracy Head through dangerous driving, but admitted a lesser charge of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving.
After a week-long trial at Guildford Crown Court, the jury was discharged after being unable to return a verdict on Friday.
The Crown Prosecution Service has been directed to look over the case to decide whether a retrial is necessary.
Otherwise Jeffree will be sentenced in relation to the lesser charge on April 8.
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Claire McWethy