A WOMAN has told of the horrific moment she saw her sister screaming in pain just seconds after being struck and killed by a sand yacht on a Lancashire beach.

Julie Christian, the younger sister of victim Carole Cruz, told a jury at Preston Crown Court she had been returning from a walk on the beach with her sister, her two nephews and her partner Aramis Salter.

Then Mrs Cruz was struck by the yacht being driven by Adrian Warren. Ms Christian said: "Aramis screamed and I looked to the front and saw a big sand yacht.

"I thought the driver had had an accident and then I realised my sister was being dragged.

"The sand yacht rotated and then came to a stop with my sister on the axle, it all happened so fast.

"I remember screaming and running around and saying to Carole she would be OK.

"Everybody was panicking. I saw my sister look at her legs and scream that the pain was so bad. She said she wanted to die because she was going to be a cripple and she was looking from Jason to Stefan (her sons)."

Adrian Warren is accused of manslaughter following the death of the 38-year-old on St Annes beach two years ago.

Preston Crown Court heard Ms Cruz, a teaching assistant, of Kingsbury Place, Burnley, had gone to Lytham St Annes for the day in August 2002.

She was returning from a walk on the beach when she was struck.

Her two sons, Jason, then 14, and Stefan, 12, witnessed the accident.

The court heard Ms Cruz was dragged along the beach by the yacht and suffered massive injuries, including both legs being virtually amputated.

Despite the efforts of paramedics and a medical team on the beach and surgeons at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, she died the same day.

Warren, 49, a lorry driver from Doncaster and a sand yacht driver for more than 30 years denies a charge of manslaughter.

Leighton Davies, prosecuting, told the court that sand yachting had been practised on St Annes beach for more than 40 years.

There were few signs to warn the public and no cordons or marshals to separate the racing area from the public on the beach.

He also said the sand yacht, travelling at about 40 to 45mph when it hit Ms Cruz, had no horn nor brakes.

Mr Davies said: "Carole Cruz can have had no expectation at all in strolling across a public beach anything of such enormity could have happened.

"Stefan, who was walking a little to her side, missed the impact but witnessed in a flash the sudden horror of what happened to his mother."

(Proceeding)