A driver held responsible for the death of a motorcyclist last year has been handed a conditional discharge after the judge said she had ‘suffered enough’.

At St Albans Crown Court on Friday, Slavika Mileva, of Oakridge Avenue, Radlett, admitted causing the death of 27-year-old Joseph Paul from St Albans by careless driving.

The former personal trainer and property broker sustained life-changing burns after she collided with the motorcyclist, who died almost instantly.

On June 10, 2014, Mileva, who had been driving in the UK for eight years with a clean licence after she moved from Macedonia, pulled out of a driveway on onto the A5183 Watling Street and, for reasons unexplained, failed to see Joseph approaching on his motorcycle.

Despite breaking hard Joseph, a former St Albans School pupil, was unable to avoid crashing into her convertible and the impact sent him hurtling over his bike and on the top of Mileva in her car.

The petrol tank on the motorbike ruptured, causing fuel to splash into the car and catch fire. Mileva sustained serious burns to her face, neck and arms.

A driver and his passenger who drove past the scene pulled Joseph and Mileva from the wreckage. Joseph was pronounced dead at the scene and Mileva was taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital where she was sedated for a month in intensive care.

Miss Michelle Fawcett, defending, said her client had since become an isolated figure, unable to work and leave her home, preferring to lock herself away instead.

Mileva was handed a two year conditional discharge, 18 month driving ban, and ordered to pay £1,200 in court costs plus a victim surcharge. The court heard that Mileva has also drummed up £10,000 in legal bills.

More detail in this week’s (December 3) Herts Advertiser.