Michelle McCann: Mother admits killing two children by dangerous driving in M1 crash with lorry (old)
A mother has admitted killing her two children in a motorway crash with a lorry near Milton Keynes.
Mary McCann, 35, of Bamford Avenue, Derby, pleaded guilty to two counts of death by dangerous driving at Aylesbury Crown Court.
Her children Smaller and Lilly, 4, died when she crashed her Vauxhall Astra into a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) between junctions 14 and 15 of the M1 at around 11.10pm on 9 August last year.
It was Smaller’s 10th birthday on the day of the crash.
Judge Francis Sheridan, sitting at Aylesbury Crown Court, said he pitied the police who had rushed to the tragic scene, saying: "Who would want to be a member of the roads policing unit having to attend scenes like this.
"I don’t know how they do it."
McCann and her baby daughter who survived the crash were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The lorry driver was not injured.
McCann was arrested after she had handed herself into Aylesbury police station.
She had been on bail, but was remanded in custody after she failed to appear in court in September that year.
Judge Francis Sheridan issued a warrant for her arrest, and the Border Force was asked to place alerts at all ports and airports to prevent her from leaving the UK.
He said it was “most likely” McCann would try to abscond to Ireland.
A lawyer for McCann asked the judge to delay her sentencing so that a psychiatric report could be prepared about her.
The judge added that he wanted to know how many other children McCann had, before considering her sentence.
No further details of the incident were read to the court and McCann, who was remanded in custody, will be sentenced in April.
