A CARELESS recovery vehicle driver caused the death of a 21-year-old Sudbury woman, jurors found.

Harvinder Singh Saran, 32, of Water Beach Road, Slough, would have had up to 10 seconds to stop if he had seen Kajal Pabari's broken down Vauxhall Corsa when it came into view on the A40 near Long Lane, in Hillingdon.

But he crashed into the back of the car at 55mph on a bright, sunny day in June last year, sending Kajal, who was sitting inside, flying forward and hitting her head.

After her death hundreds joined a memorial group set up on social networking website Facebook, and relatives packed into her home, in Saunderton Road for her funeral.

Family members wept as they said goodbye to a woman they described as their “angel”.

In April, ten months later, Magan, 68, and Bharti Pabari, 54, Kajal's father and mother, said: “We remember and miss Kajal everyday and pray for her every evening.”

Isleworth Crown Court heard how the earliest Saran could have spotted the broken down maroon car was when he was 260m away, but even at half that distance he could still have stopped in time.

The defendant said it all happened too quickly for him to brake, and told jurors he could not change lanes because he was boxed in by another car.

Motorists driving behind the recovery vehicle said they did not see another car preventing the maneuver.

The court heard how Saran should have been more aware of the possibility a broken down car would have been on the road because of his line of work.

Sergeant Chris Osborne, of Alperton Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This has had a big impact on both families. Obviously the Pabari's have lost Kajal and she will never be replaced.

“He, as a consequence of his conviction, was disqualified from driving, which means that he will lose his job and he's going to have this on his mind for the rest of his life.

“It's all just because he wasn't paying attention for a few seconds.”

He added: “The fact that he had this lapse of concentration has effectively meant that he hit the car at a good deal of speed.

“It just reinforces the point that you should always concentrate while you are driving.”

Saran was found guilty of causing death by careless driving at Isleworth Crown Court today.

Sentencing was adjourned until August 6.