WE expect heads shook in disbelief across the county when driver Katherine Dawkes was cleared of causing death by dangerous driving.

For being responsible for the crash which killed Tim Hill, left Dean Andrews in a vegetative state, and seriously injured Peter Prosser, the 36-year-old was convicted of careless driving - and fined £1,000, with a 12-month driving ban.

There were three key moments in the week-long case.

First, the description of the road as having "sweeping curves and long broken lines, which indicate a hazard and warn drivers to only overtake if it's clear ahead".

Second, Dawkes' statement to police that she was unable to see lights approaching when she began overtaking a lorry, and her admission that: "I didn't think it was safe, but I thought it might be possible."

Third, defence barrister Huw Williams' submission that, if the lorry had stuck to its 40mph limit, she would have been able to overtake safely.

That's as irrelevant as saying that, if Mr Prosser's car hadn't been approaching, the crash couldn't have happened.

The simple fact is that the road markings gave her a warning which she chose to ignore. That sounds dangerous to us.

"At the end of the day, they're saying his life is only worth the £1,000 fine, which seems a bit ridiculous really," said Tim Hill's father, Eric.

It would be a cold person who didn't feel for those whose lives have been devastated by those "careless" moments, to use the jury's view.

It also begs the question: What must you have done to be convicted of causing death by dangerous driving?