A TEENAGE student had to re-live the night two of her closest friends died in her car when their parents brought a private prosecution against her.

Jane Bramley, 19, offered to take three friends for a drive to help them cope with the nerves of their A-level results, which were due the next day.

While driving her father's Vauxhall Astra car at 50mph, 20mph below the speed limit, Miss Bramley swerved to avoid a rabbit.

Her car veered out of control and went down an embankment by the A19 in County Durham and hit a tree.

She lost an eye, and her friends Katy Linighan, and Richard Clemot-Escobar, both 18, died.

Her best friend, Alex Mason-Chilton, now 19, was seriously injured.

The Crown Prosecution Service examined the evidence gathered by the police and decided not to bring a case.

But the parents of the two who died pooled their resources to bring a private prosecution against her.

Following a hearing at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court, Miss Bramley was cleared by the bench.

Rear passengers Ms Linighan, and Mr Clemot-Escobar, both of Hartlepool, died at the scene.

Lorraine Mustard, defending Miss Bramley, asked if she could have done anything differently that night.

She replied: "No, I was focusing on the road, just concentrating on what I was doing."

Police experts estimated she had 1.5 seconds to react after she saw the rabbit before the car would have hit it.

Other evidence showed the car was in good condition.

The accident happened just after midnight on the northbound carriageway of the A19, about half a mile south of the Dalton Piercy turnoff. Miss Bramley, of Hartlepool, was wearing flip-flops while driving.

Court chairman John Phillipson said: "We find no evidence of speeding or tiredness or inappropriate use of headlights, or that footwear played a part or that there was any erratic driving."