Dr Sally Robeson guilty of causing Rebecca Davies' death

Dr Sally Robeson, 33, ploughed into the family car of 19-year-old Rebecca Davies - herself an aspiring doctor - after her parents had picked her up from university.

Dr Robeson was driving to work at Abergavenny's Nevill Hall Hospital in her pink Peugeot when she claimed she was dazzled by light from another car.

But the court heard she may have "been tired and not as fresh or alert as she thought she was" as she lost control to swerve across the road on the A4042 in Llanellen, Monmouthshire.

But Ms Davies suffered severe injuries in the back seat in the crash - and died at the same hospital where Dr Robeson worked as a trauma specialist.

She suffered catastrophic injuries to her stomach and died at Nevill Hall two hours after the crash.

Rebecca Davies. Picture: Wales News Service

Her mother Carol was driving her Suzuki Swift when she was hit by the doctor's Peugeot on the road.

She said: "I saw lights in front of me – they came from nowhere. There was the bang of impact. It was a loud bang and the windscreen went through and the airbags went off.

"It was a complete shock. One minute you're driving along and the next minute this happened.

"I remember thinking 'Am I okay? Am I alive?'"

Her husband William was unconscious next to her but she couldn't hear their daughter from the back seat.

She then shouted to her daughter "Are you okay?" and the teenager said she was okay but was "in pain" and "had a bad stomach".

But Ms Davies, of Abergavenny, died from injuries including laceration of mesentery, ileum, and diaphragm.

The teenager, who was studying biochemistry at Birmingham University, was described as being "deeply missed".

The cause of death was given as an injury to the belly including laceration of mesentery, ileum, and diaphragm.

Mrs Davies suffered a broken neck, collar bone, ribs, hip and ankle as well as a dislocated elbow and an arm fracture.

Prosecutor Eugene Egan said Robeson had not acted as a "careful and competent driver" and had lost control of the car.

He added: "The bottom line is the defendant was not driving in an appropriate fashion that day and lost control of her car in circumstances where a careful and competent driver would have kept on the right side of the road.

"Perhaps Sally Robeson was tired and not as fresh or alert as she thought she was. Perhaps she looked down at the sat nav on the bend."

Robeson was on her way to work a shift at Nevill Hall Hospital as a senior house doctor specialising in trauma and orthopaedics.

Robeson claimed she was dazzled by lights from another vehicle and over-steered to avoid hitting a hedge on the other side of the road, causing her to swerve into the opposite carriageway.

The doctor of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, pleaded not guilty to causing death by driving without due care and attention in January.

But she was found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court.

Defence barrister Heath Edwards said: "There's no doubt what happened on that night was tragic.

"It was a split second which devastated the lives of all those involved. Nothing that we can do can turn back the clock. It is an awful fact Rebecca Davies was killed and others were significantly injured.

"This has shattered the lives of the Davies family but accidents can happen and despite people driving competently and carefully."

Robeson will be sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on September 6 after a pre-sentence report.

In a tribute to Ms Davies issued after she died, her family said: "Our daughter was beautiful inside and out. She was determined to help others, volunteering with St John Ambulance and St Mary's Hospice while studying for her degree in biochemistry at Birmingham University with the aim of becoming a doctor.

"She made us so very proud. Good night our sweet beautiful girl. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."