Mum sentenced for crash that killed her two sons

A mother has been sentenced for killing her two sons, aged eight and six, in a head-on crash caused by an under-inflated tyre.

Amy Sheppard, 29, was on the school run on 2 October 2023 when she lost control of her Vauxhall Astra on the A52 in Sutton on Sea, Lincolnshire, colliding with an Audi.

A four-year-old child in Sheppard's car was also injured but survived and three adults in the Audi were hospitalised with serious injuries, Lincoln Crown Court heard.

Sheppard, of Mumby Road, Hutoft, was given a 20-month suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty at a previous hearing to two counts of causing death by careless driving and three counts of causing serious injury by careless driving.

The court was told that Sheppard was driving home after collecting her sons from school when the crash happened on a bend.

Prosecutor David Eager said the "the seeds were sown the previous day" when Sheppard sent her partner a message that said "my tyre is going flat again".

Mr Eager said Sheppard's partner mistakenly checked her front right tyre that evening.

"Sadly, tragically, he did not check any of the other tyres," said Mr Eager.

CCTV footage showed the under-inflated tyre on Sheppard's journey to work and Mr Eager explained there were two local filling stations with with air machines within a four-mile (6km) radius when she started her last journey.

The court heard a driver following the car before it crashed spotted the under inflated tyre and said Sheppard's vehicle was "wallowing."

"The back end went, it turned 45 degrees," the driver said.

One of her sons, Louie died at the scene and her other son, Mason, along with the other child, were airlifted to Sheffield Children's Hospital, where Mason died a few hours later.

Mr Eager said Sheppard, who was also injured, admitted in a police interview of being aware of the under-inflated tyre and not rectifying it.

Katherine Robinson, mitigating, said Sheppard had been assessed as suffering from a severe mental health condition as a result of the trauma of the incident.

Ms Robinson said she was also the "primary carer" for another child and was suitable for rehabilitation.

She added that the greatest punishment she could ever face was the loss of her children "that will stay with her forever".

Passing sentence, Judge James House KC said a normal day had "ended in absolute tragedy".

The judge said the miscommunication over the deflated tyre "was to lead to catastrophic consequences".

He added that Sheppard's decision to drive without rectifying the problem was "the carelessness in this case".

"Her carelessness caused the death of her two sons," Judge House said.

Following their deaths, Mablethorpe Primary Academy paid tribute to the brothers, saying the school was "truly devastated".

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