Abbey Ridgway, 26, who caused the fatal car crash on the A4 Bath Road near Wiltshire while driving to a theatre performance, has avoided prison. Rosa Taylor, 19, died at the scene, while Ridgway’s boyfriend, Aaron Ormesher, was seriously injured. Ridgway was i
Abbey Ridgway pulled out onto the A4 Bath Road in Wiltshire at 1.30pm on July 24, 2025, and within seconds a collision she did not prevent ended Rosa Taylor’s life.
Ridgway. 26. from Skelmersdale. Lancashire. was driving the Hyundai i10 when she failed to look properly at a junction. veered into the path of a Scania truck and was unable to avoid the impact.. The crash seriously injured her boyfriend, Aaron Ormesher, and killed 19-year-old Rosa Taylor, who was one of the passengers.
Rosa was being driven to Corsham Library near Swindon, where she was due to star in the musical theatre production Scrumptious!. She secured a scholarship at the prestigious Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London and was scheduled to start in September 2025—plans that ended at the crash site.
After the collision, Ridgway and Mr Ormesher were taken to Southmead Hospital, Bristol.. A TV crew from Emergency 24/7 filmed Ridgway and Mr Ormesher for a programme.. Mr Ormesher arrived at hospital suffering a brain injury and was in no state to give consent to filming; the surgeons permitted the camera crew access.. Later, Mr Ormesher gave consent “in tribute to the treatment he had been given,” as Ridgway’s barrister said.
The episode emerged nine months after the crash and left Rosa’s grieving family furious, after Rosa’s mother and father were horrified by the documentary’s existence.
At court. Ridgway faced a maximum of three years in jail for causing the fatal crash by careless driving. but she was not sentenced to any prison time.. Instead. she was banned from driving for two years. given a 12 month community order and told to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.. She was also ordered to pay £199 in costs and a surcharge.
In his remarks to Warrington Crown Court. Rosa’s father. Gareth Taylor. condemned Ridgway’s driving and her involvement in the documentary.. He said: “I don’t know the full details of what will be shown in this documentary but apparently the background of the accident and Rosa’s death will be mentioned. he said.” He added that although parts of the crash may now be in the public domain. he “can confirm that I have never been asked for my consent or been informed until now which is over nine months later.”
He said consenting to the filming had been “insensitive” to Rosa’s family and friends and had “already created an additional and unnecessary burden of stress,” while “before the programme is aired.”
Mr Taylor also challenged the circumstances surrounding who was driving that day.. He said the taxi driver from Upholland. Lancashire. told the court that his daughter was “on top of the world” with her whole life ahead of her.. He added that he believed “Abbey had no intention of causing the accident and I’m sure she’s very sorry it happened. ” but “the thing that really plays on my mind is the fact that I only approved of Rosa going to Wiltshire for the shows was based on the fact that Aaron was driving. as I know he is a relatively experienced driver.”
He said it was Ridgway. not Mr Ormesher. who was at the wheel. a point he described as deeply concerning because she had “only passed her test in the last 12 months.” He continued: “I would never have approved of an inexperienced driver driving Rosa around in an unfamiliar area. which is what happened.”
The father told the court there had been “several bad decisions on the day. ” including the decision to let Ridgway drive.. He said he felt “she was clearly under pressure in that driving situation and that unfortunately led to her making a terrible decision at the junction. ” adding: “Sadly it is something that has played on my mind and will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
He was also “extremely disappointed” that neither of the two insured drivers enforced that Rosa wore a seatbelt, saying it left her “not wearing a seatbelt when the car was hit.” According to the court account, Rosa died of her injuries at the site of the crash.
The judge delivered a stark warning about the responsibility attached to driving. telling Ridgway: “You were driving what can be a lethal weapon and a young woman who had her whole life ahead of her. a very exciting life ahead of her. never got to see it.. She never got the chance to fulfill her potential.” The judge continued: “You have to live with that and of course her family have to live with that as well.. You have to bear the responsibility for the rest of your life that you killed somebody.”
The sequence of what followed the crash—filming in hospital despite Mr Ormesher’s initial inability to consent. then the programme being aired nine months later after Ridgway admitted careless driving—collided with the fact that. at sentencing. she received a driving ban. unpaid work and a community order rather than prison time.
Abbey Ridgway Rosa Taylor Aaron Ormesher A4 Bath Road careless driving Wiltshire crash Emergency 24/7 Corsham Library Scrumptious! Trinity Laban Conservatoire Warrington Crown Court