A TEACHING assistant killed a 75-year-old woman on New Year’s Eve after she ran her over in a supermarket car park.

May Wah Grace Mustey, 45, was leaving Waitrose in Monmouth after shopping there when she hit pedestrian Gwendoline Mary Owen.

The “impatient” defendant had started driving when the windows of her Toyota Yaris were still misted over.

Prosecutor John Ryan told Cardiff Crown Court: “Her vision was obscured and she failed to see Mrs Owen walking in the car park.

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“She said she began to drive after only being able to see through the lower half of her windscreen.

“The defendant also effectively had no left hand view.

“She didn’t give sufficient time for the windows to demist and she drove with a restricted view.”

Mr Ryan said witness Bronte Couzens had told police: “It appeared she (Mustey) was not looking around and paying attention to her surroundings.

“She didn’t have a clue what she was doing.”

The court heard that Mrs Owen’s only living relative is her husband who has dementia and is in a care home.

The victim was hit at 4.15pm on December 31, 2022.

She died several hours later just before midnight going into New Year’s Day at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.

Mrs Owen sustained “unsurvivable brain injuries” after her skull had been fractured.

Mother-of-two Mustey, of Maypole, Monmouth pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

She has no previous convictions in the UK but she told police she drove through a red light while living in Singapore for which was sentenced to go on a course.

Owen Williams representing Mustey said: “The defendant is a loving mother and wife.

“She is a caring and devoted mother of two daughters and described as an honest, generous and caring friend and colleague.

“The defendant has deep regret and genuine remorse for what her actions have caused.”

The court heard Mustey could face deportation as a result of her conviction although she currently has leave to remain in the UK.

She had been working as a teaching assistant but since this offence she has lost that job.

Judge Paul Hobson told her: “The court has not been told a great deal about Mrs Owen.

“That lack of information does not make her life any less valuable or her death less tragic.

“She was not to blame for what happened that day – it was your impatience that led to her death.

"The fundamental point is that you couldn't see out of your windows.

“Common sense should have told you not to even to start driving that car.”

Judge Hobson said that he believed there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in the defendant’s case.

She was jailed for 20 months but the sentence was suspended for 18 months.

Mustey must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

The defendant was banned from driving for five years and will have to sit an extended retest.

She was ordered to pay £1,200 costs and a victim surcharge.