Text death sentence up for review

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The Attorney General is to review the sentence of a motorist jailed for causing death by dangerous driving after using her mobile phone.

Philippa Curtis, 21, smashed into the back of a stationary car at 70mph on the A40 in Oxfordshire, killing the driver 24-year-old Victoria McBryde.

She admitted using her phone to send and receive a string of text messages and was jailed for 21 months.

The decision to look at the case came after complaints from the public.

Ms McBryde, 24, from Horton in Northamptonshire, had pulled over with a flat tyre near Wheatley in November 2007 when her car was struck. She suffered fatal brain injuries.

Curtis, of Bury St Edmunds, was also given a three-year driving ban.

Judge Julian Hall said it had been "folly and madness" to use a phone while driving.

The Attorney General has the power to refer the case to the Court of Appeal if she believes the sentence is "unduly lenient" - significantly below what a judge could reasonably have given.

If the case is referred to the Court of Appeal, three judges will decide if the sentence should be increased or not.