The brother of a popular former headteacher said he knew "something was very wrong" when she didn't arrive home.
Paula Kingdon had no chance to avoid Ann Marie Crook's Renault Clio as it hurtled towards oncoming traffic on the M57.
Liverpool Crown Court was told of Ms Kingdon's compassion and devotion to others as Crook was jailed over the crash on Thursday.
Read More: Liverpool's 'third cathedral' finally reopens
Ms Kingdon was on her way to see her brother Stephen Sharples when she drove onto the M57 at around 9.30am on the morning of October 31, 2019.
The 64-year-old had been in Kirkby to visit her step-dad John, who she helped to care for, and had messaged Stephen Sharples via WhatsApp just before she set off.
In an emotional statement written by Mr Sharples, he said: "So soon after waving Paula off, John opened his front door to police officers who told him Paula was dead."
He added that, since Ms Kingdon's death, John had suffered a "distressing decline" in his physical and mental health.
Mr Sharples said he knew something was "very wrong" when his sister did not arrive at his home and then, at 3pm, he received a call to tell him of her tragic death.
As well as being a much-loved aunt to her two nieces, Ms Kingdon was hugely popular in the community she worked in for decades.
While she was from Merseyside, she had dedicated 40 years of her life to Westfield Primary School in Chesterfield. Twenty of those years were spent in the role of headteacher.
The court heard hundreds of people attended Ms Kingdon's funeral and that her death represented a devastating loss for the local area. She was described as compassionate, conscientious and dedicated to supporting people.
Mr Sharples added: "After a lifetime of devoting herself to others, Paula deserved the chance to enjoy her retirement.
"She embraced her new life with the same energy and positivity that she had brought to her work, and happily divided her time between seeing family and friends, travelling, going to the theatre, looking after John and following Liverpool FC.
"It is heartbreaking for me that Paula had this wonderful new chapter of her life so cruelly taken away by the senseless actions of a total stranger."
Crook was sentenced to four years and eight months in jail after she admitted causing death by dangerous driving.
The 43-year-old had reached speeds of almost 100mph while driving westbound on the East Lancashire Road as she passed through Windle Island in St Helens.
At the junction with Moorgate Road she entered the lane to turn right, only to continue straight and drive into oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the barriers separating the carriageways.
Crook then turned down the M57 slip road, almost hitting a lorry head on before joining the motorway and driving at traffic heading in the opposite direction.
The vehicle directly in front of Ms Kingdon swerved to get out of Crook's way. This left leaving her with no opportunity to avoid a crash.
Chris Hopkins, prosecuting, said Crook's intentions remained unclear, but added: "All of the evidence indicates this was a deliberate act and the only sensible conclusion that can be drawn is that the defendant was trying to harm herself."
Crook, of Cheviot Avenue in St Helens, said she had no recollection of the incident and suggested she "had taken a wrong turn and panicked".
Mr Hopkins said: "The fact that that explanation is maintained by the defendant is something which has caused great distress to family members of the victim."
The court heard the 43-year-old had previously been "a woman of positive good character who had worked all her life, who is clearly dedicated to her children and is someone who could regularly be found helping family, friends and neighbours".
Addressing Ms Kingdon's family as he passed sentence, Judge Garrett Byrne told the court: "No sentence can restore Paula and no sentence can possibly compensate for her loss."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
