A WOMAN has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order following a fatal car accident that caused the death of a man in Acton last March.

Police were called to Salisbury Street at around 12:50pm on March 22, 2020, following reports that a car had struck a man in the street.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found Stefan Melnyk, 54, being cared for by members of the public.

He had sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital where he died the next day.

Another man, aged 39, was attacked with a knife and received injuries to his hand following the collision.

Rhian Beresford, 29, of Hope Gardens, Acton, had been driving the car that struck Melnyk and was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, before later being arrested on suspicion of murder.

She pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility on December 21, 2020, when she appeared via video link from a secure mental health facility.

She also pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to the second mad who was attacked with a knife during the same incident.

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Pleas of not guilty to the murder of Melnyk and the attempted murder of the second victim were accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

She was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order at the Old Bailey last Friday, February 19.

Detective Inspector Garth Hall, of the Met's Specialist Crime Command (Homicide), said: "As the pleas entered at court indicate, this is a case where it is accepted that severe mental ill health was a key factor.

"While this may go some way to accounting for the events of that day, it nonetheless remains a tragic incident and my thoughts are with Stefan Melnyk's family as they continue to come to terms with their loss.

"I would also like to once again thank and pay tribute to the members of the public who came to Stefan's aid in the most traumatic circumstances."