Teenage girl, 18, was killed in head-on car crash deliberately caused by schizophrenic woman who thought the Russians wanted to kill her

By LETTICE BROMOVSKY, NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:49, 23 June 2026 | Updated: 14:52, 23 June 2026 A teenage girl was killed after a mentally ill driver deliberately smashed head-on into her car just hours after being discharged from a psychiatric hospital. Josie Cartwright, 18, suffered catastrophic injuries on June 2 2024 when Alexandra Bordas drove her Renault Clio across the centre line of the A51 at Henhull in Cheshire and into the teenager's Toyota Aygo as she drove two friends home after an ice cream trip. Josie died the following day after her devastated family made the selfless decision to donate her organs so others could live. Bordas, 35, had been admitted to a mental health unit less than 24 hours earlier after displaying alarming behaviour at London's Euston station. But she was allowed to leave after telling doctors she felt stable. In the days before the crash, the mother-of-two had claimed the Russians and Chinese were trying to kill her, while her children had previously been taken into foster care after she took them into woodland carrying a chainsaw. Following the collision, Bordas - who was uninjured - bizarrely blamed a faulty clutch before asking police: 'Has it been planned? Is it organised?' She then insisted: 'You cannot arrest me. I need medical attention.' A judge has now ordered Bordas to be detained indefinitely in a secure psychiatric hospital after she admitted causing Josie's death and seriously injuring one of her passengers by dangerous driving. She has since been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.  Josie Cartwright, 18, suffered catastrophic injuries on June 2 2024 when Alexandra Bordas drove her Renault Clio across the centre line of the A51 at Henhull in Cheshire Josie died the following day after her devastated family made the selfless decision to donate her organs so others could live At Chester crown court Josie's family gave heartbreaking statements to a judge as Bordas was ordered to be detained in a secure psychiatric unit having earlier admitted charges of causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving. The restaurant worker's mother Nicola Cartwright said: 'When our daughter left the house having done a shift at work, I had no idea this was the last time I would get to hear her voice. She took some of her friends for ice cream but my son was contacted to say there had been an accident. 'I thought she would have just broken a fingernail. However, just minutes later there were policemen standing at our door wanting to take us to hospital and our world began to crumble. 'Before we had even seen Josie we were told that her injuries were so severe she would not recover and there was a feeling of pain and shock and unbelievable numbness.' She added: 'Josie is an innocent victim in an accident that should never have happened. She was killed because someone who made the decision to get behind the wheel and broke the law. 'This person still continues to have a life but our daughter, through no choice of her own, does not. On the day of the funeral we all buried a piece of ourselves. Our lives are incomplete and broken.' Josie's aunt Clare Alcock, told the court: 'Josie's death was caused by someone said to be mentally unstable. Why was that person behind the wheel when clearly she was not safe to be?' Prosecutor Myles Wilson said: 'She had been acting erratically in the days before. She had been in contact with a childhood friend saying the Russians and the Chinese were after her and wanted to kill her. The night before the collision she had been taken to a hospital for an assessment following concerns for her mental health. 'But the defendant told medical staff that she had been taking her medication and just felt tired and stable so she was discharged and allowed to return home. 'Josie only had her car couple of weeks, having recently passed her test. She was driving two friends home following a visit to an ice cream shop when the defendant who was driving in the opposite direction crossed over into their lane and caused a head on collision. It was obviously a hugely dangerous manoeuvre and it was deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road. At Chester crown court Josie's family gave heartbreaking statements to a judge as Bordas was ordered to be detained in a secure psychiatric unit 'Members of the public tried to help Josie and she was airlifted to Royal Stoke Hospital but she suffered an inoperable and unsurvivable brain injury. 'The defendant was apparently uninjured in the crash and remained in her seat in her car whilst police attended. Speaking to police officers she made comments, 'Has it been planned? Is it organised?' and saying that someone wanted her dead. 'She tried to blame the car for the collision, saying something was wrong with the clutch and she could not control the wheel. When the officer tried to take a drug test, she accused him of wanting to kill her. 'She became very argumentative, got out of the car, was walking around and saying she wanted to leave and adding: 'You cannot arrest me. I need medical attention.' 'She was taken to hospital where one minute she was lucid and the next she not making sense. She has been detained since that day under the Mental Health Act.' Bordas who appeared via video link from Chesterton Unit at Hollins Park Hospital in Chester was also banned from driving for eight years with a requirement that she takes an extended retest and satisfies the DVLA's 'fitness to drive' requirements. She had initially denied the charges and was set to argue she was not guilty due to 'automatism.' Her lawyer Adam Antoszkiw said: 'Miss Bordas is acutely aware of pain and suffering that she has caused notwithstanding her mental illness. Up until around 2024, there was no suggestion of any psychiatric illness but reports acknowledge a clear link between her psychiatric condition and her actions on that date. 'II is clear that Miss Bordas's car does indeed speed up and is consistent with the delusion that she was experiencing at the time.' In sentencing Judge Simon Berkson told Bordas: 'You had been behaving in an erratic and bizarre fashion before you decided to get in that car. 'You were clearly not in a fit state to be behind the wheel and it is clear from the evidence that you sped up as you approached the Toyota Aygo and you deliberately drove into a collision. It took no more than a second but for Josie family and friends that moment has led to a lifetime of upset and pain.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.