Renate Soltys, 70, suffered ‘catastrophic injuries’ and died at the scene

A man has avoided a prison sentence after a woman died in a crash when he fell asleep at the wheel.

Jason Rana had his children in the car as he travelled on the B3230 in Muddiford, Devon, on his way home from the beach.

The 39-year-old recalled feeling ‘his eyes going’ moments before crashing into a Kia being driven by 70-year-old Renate Soltys.

She suffered catastrophic injuries in the collision and died at the scene on June 4, 2023.

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Rana, of Gould Road in Barnstaple, admitted causing death by careless driving at Exeter Crown Court this week.

He faced the prospect of prison but was given a community order and banned for a year.

The judge said he had showed remorse throughout and the offence was out of character.

Rana was driving a Peugeot 5008 southbound and returning home from a family outing at the time of the crash.

A forensic investigation of the scene found Rana did not negotiate a shallow left hand bend and ended up on the northbound carriageway.

Neither vehicle had a mechanical fault or was travelling above the speed limit, DevonLive reports.

Prosecuter Peter Coombe said: “The defendant was described by witnesses as crying and saying sorry repeatedly.

“That he felt his eyes were going and must have fallen asleep as he had been up since 6am.”

He woke up just before the collision and tried to break but it was too late.

There was no alcohol or drugs in his system and one of his children suffered a broken arm in the crash.

He himself had minor injuries, the court heard.

The victim was described as a “recluse” with no known family and no victim impact statement was read out in court.

Rana had references describing him as a kind and generous family man with a clean licence.

He is a member of the local running club and has not been in trouble before.

Judge Anna Richardson said the fatal crash was a direct consequence of his loss of consciousness.

She said getting up early with his children was not a factor that caused him to struggle to stay awake.

Rana was given an 18-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work and costs of £150.