An 86-year-old woman has been fined £3,000 and banned from driving after she admitted causing the deaths of two of her friends in a horrific road smash.
Leslie Garven was on a day trip to Crieff when she drove out of a junction and into the path of a car.
Passengers Richmal Southwood, 83, and Rhoda Lawton, 78, both died from their injuries.
The grandmother-of-six appeared at Perth Sheriff Court for sentencing on Thursday, having previously admitted causing death by careless driving.
Sheriff Fiona Tait was told the families of the victims had accepted the crash was a “tragic accident” and said that Garven had already “suffered enough”.
Solicitor David Holmes said: “It is made abundantly clear that she will carry the burden for this for the rest of her days.”
Sheriff Tait said that, given Garven’s age, it was not appropriate to order her to do unpaid community work.
She told Garven: “I take account that you appear before me as a first offender at the age of 86.
“I am mindful that any penalty I impose today is inadequate in the face of the loss of Ms Southwood and Ms Lawton, but I will make a fine of £3,000.”
Garven, of Oakbank Road, Perth, was also disqualified from driving for four years and will need to re-sit her test to get her licence back.
Mr Holmes said: “On this particular day, there had been roadworks and Mrs Garven had decided to take a different route, one she was not familiar with.
“She approached the junction and came to a stop.”
Mr Holmes told the court she looked to her right, where there was a dip in the road.
“It may have been that as she didn’t see any vehicle coming because it was hidden in the dip.”
The court heard Garven “momentarily hesitated” before leaving the junction.
Mr Holmes said that if she had moved one second before, or one second after, the collision may not have occurred.
A third passenger had sustained a broken pelvis, tailbone and rib, a collapsed lung and needed a partial amputation of her thumb.
Crash investigators worked out that the other motorist was driving within the speed limit at 48mph, but was unable to avoid Garven as she pulled out in front of her at about 13mph.
Garven, a former meals on wheels worker, had offered to carry out voluntary work as part of a community service order.
The court heard she had been caring for her husband who had fallen ill and had only heard about court proceedings against her when she received a petition for her arrest in June last year.