A DRIVER who smashed into the back of a recovery tuck, killing a mechanic on the roadside, told how she was blinded by a "wall of white light" and lost control moments before the collision.

Susan Lowe, 62, shunted aside the Peugeot 306 he was working on and crashed her 3.5 litre Chrysler Voyager into his truck, which was parked in front.

Terry Booth, 58, of Ferndown, below, who had been standing between the two vehicles, died at the scene from massive head injuries.

Lowe, a widow, told how she had left a key¬board music convention in Bournemouth after 11pm and decided to drive home to Yorkshire at night to beat the traffic.

She said she was travelling along the "pitch black" A31 dual carriageway approaching Poulner Hill near Ringwood when she spotted flashing amber lights ahead. At first she thought they were on the other side of the road then realised they were coming towards her path.

She told Southampton Crown Court how she was prevented from pulling out of the inside lane because a car behind had started to overtake.

Lowe said she slowed, turned her head to check behind, then was dazzled by his lights and those from oncoming traffic.

She went on: "Then suddenly I hit a wall of white light in front of me. At the time I had no idea what happened. I couldn't see at all.

"If you can imagine 40 flash bulbs going off in front of your eyes. That's the impact it had," she said.

She showed jurors how she covered her face with her forearm and admitted: "I was not in control of anything."

Lowe said she got out to search for a recovery driver and saw him over the top of the bonnet of her Chrysler, which she had described as being "a bit like a tank".

"I couldn't get to him because my car was welded to the back of the recovery vehicle," she said.

Lowe added she saw the Peugeot had ended up in a ditch and the driver was by the recovery truck in "great shock".

A passing motorist stopped to help and alert the emergency services.

"I really have no sensible explanation for what had happened," she said, although insisted she was not tired and had not been asleep as claimed by prosecutors.

She said she now thought the white light came from the back of the recovery truck.

Lowe said she suffered whiplash and post stress disorder, and that while she had had a cataract in her right eye she had been cleared to drive.

Earlier jurors were told there was no evidence Lowe had applied her brakes even when she mounted a kerb and travelled along a verge for around 50 metres before the collision.

Police collision investigator Michael Gunby told the court Mr Booth's truck, which was described by a witness as "lit up like a Christmas tree" should have been visible for 590 metres or up to 19 seconds at 70mph.

Prosecutors claim Lowe was driving at between 40 and 50mph.

Mr Gunby concluded Lowe suffered "more than a momentary lapse in concentration".

In cross examination by Lowe's barrister Charles Gabb, Gunby said there was no evidence to suggest Lowe had unintentionally hit the accelerator instead of the brakes, as suggested by a defence expert.

Peugeot driver Pauline Reeder told the court how Mr Booth had come to her recovery as an RAC contractor when she had run out of diesel and flattened her battery.

She told the court how she recalled sitting in her car while Mr Booth hooked up jump leads.

"The next thing I know I was in an ambulance with blood pouring out of my face and had no shoes on. I don't remember being hit," she said.

Lowe, of Gypsy Mead, Leeds, denies causing death by dangerous driving on June 12 last year.

Proceeding.