High-flying Tesla driver, 43, who spent several weeks travelling in Europe crashed her £100,000 luxury vehicle into another car after 'looking the wrong way' because she 'forgot she was in Britain'

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A 'climate activist' Tesla driver who spent several weeks travelling in Europe crashed her luxury eco vehicle into another car after looking the wrong way because she 'forgot' she was driving in Britain, a court has heard.

High-flying company director Olessia Willybiro, 43, had her two children in the back of her £100,000 Tesla Model X when she failed to look for oncoming traffic from the right hand side as she exited a service station on the A303 near Mere, in Wiltshire. 

It caused driver Damon Campion to crash into her driver's door, with his car ending up in a wooded area. Mr Campion suffered two fractures in his sternum and injured his hand in the 'traumatic' collision in which he said he felt 'lucky to be alive'.  

Willybiro, who lives in a £2 million home close to the banks of the Thames in west London, had been in Europe over the summer 'for a considerable number of weeks' where she had been driving on the right hand side of the road, magistrates were told.

She claimed that upon her return home, 'her brain forgot that she was driving in the UK' and she checked the traffic in the wrong direction when she crashed on September 3 last year.

High-flying company director Olessia Willybiro, 43, (pictured) had her two children in the back of her £100,000 Tesla Model X when she crashed on the A303 near Mere, in Wiltshire

Willybiro had been abroad in Europe for a 'number of weeks' where she was driving on the right hand side and said she 'forgot' she was in Britain when she failed to look for oncoming traffic from the right hand side - causing Damon Campion to crash into her eco vehicle

The management consultant - who has also set up her own tree planting project - has now been handed a community order and been disqualified from driving for a year.

Willybiro had stopped at Willoughby Hedge services on the A303 near Mere, Wiltshire, for a 'short period of time'.

The Russian-born driver worked in 'Operations and Finance' for 18 years but since the pandemic has 'dedicated her life to Climate Activism', according to her LinkedIn.

She was driving a white Tesla Model X which can cost up to £131,080, has a max speed of 155 miles per hour, and travels from zero to 60 in 3.8 seconds.

At the time, Mr Campion, a 52-year-old photographer, was driving eastbound towards the service station after visiting his son in Cornwall.

Mr Campion's car ended up in the 'nearby wooded area' and the collision caused him to suffer 'two fractures to his sternum' and 'an injury to his hand'.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Campion said he was 'happy to be alive' after the 'traumatic event'.

He told the court: 'I have to be honest, life seems to be getting harder for me and my ability to cope seems to be diminishing.

'In the aftermath of the collision I was shaken up for a few months. My life has totally changed since the accident.'

The court heard Mr Campion spent four days in hospital after the crash and had to take three months off work.

A stock photo of a Tesla Model X, the model owned by Willybiro, which can cost up to £131,080 

He added: 'In essence, the accident has completely changed mine and my family's lives and I fear it will never be how it once was.'

Willybiro, from Fulham, whose 12 year old and eight year old children were in the car with her, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving.

Representing her, Nick Redhead told the court: 'When I was speaking to her, I asked her whether she had been injured in the accident herself to which she replied, very quickly, "not physically", but she then became emotional.'

The solicitor said it was 'clear' the accident has left 'mental scars' for the mother of two.

He continued: 'The accident's as simple as the reason for it - she had been abroad for a considerable number of weeks and of course in continental Europe, they drive on the right.

'Of course, in this country, we drive on the left.

'She came onto the A303, she looked to the left - which would have been correct if she had been driving in France or Germany. She pulls out and collision is unavoidable.

'She simply looked the wrong way because she had a moment where the brain forgot that she was driving in the UK.'

Willybiro, who sat tearily in the dock, was disqualified from driving for a total of 12 months.

She was handed a community order, and ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work as well as pay £199 in costs.