THE parents of a soldier killed in Afghanistan have suffered a devastating new blow with the news their daughter faces accusations she caused her sister's death crash.
Mother-of-one Jennie Stone, 28, was killed when her car hit a tree along the A165 on February 18.
The Crown Prosecution Service has now said it is in the public interest to prosecute her sister Rosie-Ann Stone, 20, who was driving her car on the same road at the time, over the crash.
The sisters' mother, Angie Stone, 56, called the decision a "travesty".
She said: "What happened was an accident, a tragic accident, and we will fight this tooth and nail."
Private Gregg Stone, 20, was shot dead on a rescue mission in Helmand province on June 3, 2012.
Jennie died minutes after dropping her son, Charlie, then aged nine, at Skipsea Primary School.
Following the tragedy, which happened on February 18 on the A165 Hull to Bridlington road in Fraisthorpe, police passed their evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The CPS has now said it is in the public interest to prosecute Jennie's sister, Rosie-Ann, 20, who was driving her own car when the crash happened.
The sisters' mother, Angie Stone – who is still reeling from the death of her daughter and soldier son, Gregg, 20, who was shot dead in June last year – has hit out at the decision.
Angie, 56, who is married to Bob, 54, said: "It is like we are losing another of our babies. Have our family not lost enough already?
"It is like being trapped in a bad, bad dream.
"How can we mourn the loss of two children when we have this hanging over our heads?
"But we will fight this tooth and nail."
Bob has previously told how he burst through a police cordon, surrounding the crash scene, in a desperate bid to reach Jennie.
Angie, of Atwick, near Hornsea, says she believes Jennie, who was affectionately known to the family as "Jennie Wren", would be "mortified" at the decision to prosecute her sister.
"It is not what Jennie would have wanted," said Angie. "I know that.
"If Jennie was here now, or if there is an afterlife, she would be looking down, disgusted and appalled.
"Rosie-Ann is mortified. She has to live with the fact that she was there on that day – she saw her sister die.
"But to be told that she was the cause is destroying her. It's destroying our family. We can't take it.
"I hope people will read this and realise no one was to blame for Jennie's death, that this was an accident and no one is to blame."
Angie, who works in a betting shop, says Rosie-Ann and Jennie were close and loved each other deeply.
Referring to Gregg's repatriation through an Oxfordshire village, during which the sisters embraced in the pouring rain, Angie said: "People only have to look at the pictures from Carterton and at Gregg's funeral to see how close Rosie-Ann and Jennie were.
"They went everywhere together. Their 'thing' was Driffield Show, which they'd go to every year without fail.
"If anything was wrong in Rosie-Ann's life, she would go to her big sister first."
Angie said the family will band together and fight to clear Rosie-Ann's name – in court, if necessary.
She said: "We believe the wrong decision has been made. There is no way she is responsible for Jennie's death and we will prove that. She is a careful and courteous driver."
In a statement, Catherine Ainsworth, district crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, said: "Rosie-Ann Stone has been reported for summons for driving without due care and causing a fatality.
"We are aware of the incredibly emotive circumstances of this case but must adhere to the Code for Crown Prosecutors, which requires our lawyers to consider two things.
"The first is whether there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.
"Where this is met, and it is in this case, we must consider whether it is in the public interest to prosecute.
"To make this decision, we have sought the views of all parties, including the Stone family and Jennie's immediate family.
"Taking into account all of the information available to us at this time, we have concluded that it is in the public interest to prosecute Rosie-Ann and have advised Humberside Police to report her for summons."
Less than 24 hours before the tragedy, Jennie, who was a final- year student at the University of Lincoln's Hull campus, had moved with her partner, Dave Parker, and her son from a past relationship into a new home in Bridlington.
