A careless driver who put a seven-year-old girl in a coma was previously known as an industry ambassador and community figure.
Deborah McGovern caused the primary school child to suffer life changing injuries after she ran a red light and crashed into the car carrying the girl.
McGovern, of Gaw Hill View in Aughton, was speaking with a colleague via Bluetooth in her Land Rover while speeding 20mph above the limit.
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The 51-year-old was jailed for 16 months for causing serious injury by careless driving after the crash at a crossroads in Maghull in October last year.
She had previously been known as a highly successful dental therapist and business women.
Speaking at McGovern's sentencing earlier this week, the mother of the young victim said the fact that someone of McGovern's previous good standing could have driven so dangerously had shocked her deeply.
She said: “This was not someone you would expect to be involved in an accident like this. It was a professional person, someone my children would have looked up to.”
McGovern had more than two decades experience as a dental therapist and ran the Liverpool Dental Spa with her husband.
In her role as president of the British Dental Therapist Association, she had a high profile position as an ambassador for her industry.
She had previously served one term as the chairwoman for the same body.
McGovern was praised in 2017 as a "kind, understanding, generous woman" after her and her husband offered to replace the teeth of the victim of a brutal attack in Liverpool city centre for free.
She was also involved in charity work and was the welfare officer for Ormskirk West End FC.
Despite this, prosecutors said she drove with such a lack of attention that she was way over the speed limit and missed the red light before crashing into a car and almost hitting another.
Liverpool Crown Court heard she was speaking to a colleague over Bluetooth, complaining about another colleague with whom they were both unhappy.
McGovern had three points on her licence from speeding in 2018 but had no previous convictions.
In the aftermath of the accident, she originally told police she believed the lights were green, with evidence indicating that she mistook the lights at a later junction for the ones she needed to follow.
Her defence counsel, Richard Dawson, said McGovern had truly believed the lights ahead of her were showing green at the time.
It was only later on, when presented with evidence, including data that showed the lights had been red for 14 seconds before the crash, that she pleaded guilty.
McGovern will serve eight months in prison before being eligible to serve the rest of her sentence on licence.
A mandatory two year driving ban will begin upon leaving prison.
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