Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. The wrath of jilted women has often resulted in gruesome killings of partners. Now, in a freakish case, a UK woman has gone on trial for killing her husband by pulling the handbrake of the car he was driving at 60 miles per hour and causing a fatal crash.

Alan and Caroline Meeking, married for seven years, were travelling in their Ford Escort when a quarrel broke out between them. Alan, 49, was allegedly twice the legal limits of alcohol when he started abusing Caroline and threatening that he would leave her.

They were riding drove home to Illminster, Somerset after lunch on a day in August last year. Caroline said Alan called her a slut and said she was good for nothing. He was telling me I was good for nothing. I thought to myself, all I have to do is keep quiet and he’ll stop. He was just going on and on and all I wanted him to do was stop, she said, Daily Mail reported.

She pleaded him to stop the car, but Alan would go on yelling at her. She pulled on the handbrake, causing the car to veer off sideways and ram into another passing vehicle. Alan died of injuries instantly while she survived.

Caroline said she was not mechanically minded and didn’t know her act would lead to the fatal crash. I thought the car would gradually come to a stop, she told the police.

She pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges.

United kingdom