A WOMAN accused of racing at high speed before being involved in a fatal smash seemed "doped up" after she got out of the wreckage, a witness said.

Janine Scarfe, 25, is accused along with Sheldon Brooks, 25, of causing the death of 68-year-old Dawn Routledge, of Old Bank, Ripponden.

She suffered a ruptured heart in the collision in April 2004.

The trial at Bradford Crown Court has been told by prosecutor Jonathan Gibson that the pair were racing shortly before Scarfe's Vauxhall Corsa hit the Peugeot 307 in whichMiss Routledge was a passenger.

Former recruitment consultant, Anthony Lomas arrived at the scene on Highmoor Lane, Clifton, Brighouse, soon after the smash.

He told the jury that he spoke to the front seat passenger in the Corsa, Fiona Gilmartin, who was trapped in the car and screaming before going round to the driver's side.

Mr Lomas said that Scarfe was unsteady on her feet as she got out of the car and smelt of alcohol.

"I thought that she seemed more than slightly drunk, may be possibly under the influence of drugs.

"I just had an inkling that she was doped up on something. Her memory wasn't too good, she may have been in shock but her eyes were wide open with wide dilated pupils."

Scarfe, of Longdale Avenue, Wyke, Bradford, claims that she had about a pint and a half of lager and lime in the pub before getting behind the wheel.

Her barrister John Broadley told the jury that she was more or less at the legal limit for drinking.

In her police interview she denied that she had taken any illegal drugs although traces of cocaine and Ecstasy were found in her system.

Scarfe, who like Brooks, of Windmere Road, Carnforth, denies a charge of causing death by dangerous driving, told the police that somebody must have put the drugs in her drink without her knowledge.

Corsa back seat passenger Hayley Milnes described in a statement how she was sending a text message when suddenly the car started spinning round and bounced off the curb.

The Crown alleges that both Scarfe and Brooks were racing as they accelerated down the road. Scarfe's Corsa was in front and smashed into the oncoming Peugeot.

Brooks saw the collision and called the emergency services, but he later drove off and was not arrested until five months later.

The trial continues.