Sentencing for baby’s death delayed after defendant suffers panic attack

The sentencing of a woman for causing the death of an eight-month-old baby in a collision was postponed after she experienced a panic attack approximately an hour before the scheduled hearing. Bridget Curtis, aged 70, admitted to causing the death of Mabli Cariad Hall through dangerous driving outside Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in June 2023. Baby Mabli was in a pushchair alongside her father when Curtis, driving a BMW, collided with her. The sentencing hearing, initially scheduled for 22 November, was cancelled after the court was informed that Curtis had suffered a “suspected heart attack.” Swansea Crown Court was subsequently informed that the sentencing proceeding would now occur on 23 January. Curtis was transported to a hospital on the morning of the intended sentencing hearing. Judge Geraint Walters stated that she had been hospitalized since “before breakfast this morning.” It was later revealed to the court that the cause was, in fact, a panic attack. Curtis, identified as a company director for one of Wales’ largest chicken farms, had previously entered a guilty plea at Swansea Crown Court. Mabli, who was the youngest of six children and resided in Neath, passed away four days following the collision at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. An inquest had previously been informed that she succumbed to a severe traumatic brain injury after being struck by Curtis in the presence of witnesses. According to police, Curtis sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to the hospital along with her passenger and a pedestrian.