A minibus driver has pleaded guilty to causing the death of an 18-year-old woman in a crash on a motorway as she travelled to a hen party, courts officials said today.

James Johnson, of Whytecote End, Wyke, Bradford, admitted causing the death of Bethany Jones by dangerous driving at Leeds Crown Court.

Miss Jones died and many of her friends and family were seriously injured when the minibus they were travelling in hit a lorry on the M62 in West Yorkshire last April.

Bethany Jones, 18, died in a minibus crash on the M62 near Castleford
Bethany Jones, 18, died in a minibus crash on the M62 near Castleford

The 18-year-old was with a group of women going to a hen party in Liverpool when the minibus collided with the lorry and overturned at junction 32, near Pontefract, on April 26, 2013.

Among those injured in the crash was bride-to-be Stefanie Firth as well as Miss Jones's mother and sister.

Lorry driver, Kevin Ollerhead, of Lincoln Crescent, St Helens, Merseyside, is also charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

He denies the charge and will go on trial next month.

Johnson will be sentenced on October 21.