Fatal end to dinner party argument

An argument over table mats escalated to fatal proportions when a caravan park manager was deliberately mown down by a car being driven by a resident, WA's Supreme Court has heard.

Katie Walkerley, 46, is facing trial for the manslaughter of Rita Addenbrooke, 59, who died from catastrophic head injuries at the Kingsway Tourist and Caravan park in February last year.

Ms Walkerley is accused of deliberately driving her Toyota at Mrs Addenbrooke, who suffered from multiple sclerosis and needed to use a walking stick.

A jury was told how Ms Walkerley had become enraged at an earlier dinner party after a guest started removing table mats which had been stuck down with tape.

After storming off and getting into her car, Ms Walkerley was driving through the park playing loud music, when Mrs Addenbrooke stepped in front of the car and placed her hands on the bonnet in an effort to stop her.

Instead, prosecutors allege she kept on driving forward, forcing Mrs Addenbrooke onto the bonnet and then off it.

The impact of her head on the ground as she fell off the car caused major head and brain injures and she died two days later, the court heard.

Ms Walkerley then drove over a speed bump and through an entry boom gate, causing damage to the car, the jury heard.

Defence lawyer Jim Brash said Ms Walkerley denied manslaughter, saying the incident was a tragic accident and not deliberate.

The trial, set down for five days, continues.