An elderly couple suffered "devastating" injuries in a head-on crash that may have been caused when an American driver turned the wrong way.
Anna Winstead, 23, was at the wheel of a Suzuki Swift when it went into the back of a Nissan Qashqai at a crossroads on the A1065 Mundford Road at Weeting.
Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told she had then veered into the path of a Citroen Picasso, seriously injuring driver John Howard and his wife Patrica.
Simon Jessop, prosecuting, said as an American citizen more used to driving on the right-hand side of the road, she may have instinctively veered right rather than left following the initial collision.
Mr Howard, a former chauffeur and black cab driver aged in his 80s, suffered multiple fractures to his neck, pelvis and legs and needed spinal surgery following the "horrific" crash on April 16, said Mr Jessop.
His wife, who is aged in her 70s, sustained chest and spinal fractures.
Mr Jessop said: "Her injuries were life-threatening and Mr Howard was told to not expect her to make it through the night.
"Fortunately she did but her injuries have life-long consequences."
In a statement read in court Mr Howard said: "I will never forgive her actions that day.
"She has taken so much from us."
A statement from his daughter said the consequences of the crash had been "devastating" for her parents, adding: "Their lives will never be the same."
Winstead, of Vicarage Road in Newmarket, wept in the dock after pleading guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by careless driving.
Magistrates adjourned her sentencing until September 15 for a pre-sentence report with all options, including prison, to be considered.
Winstead, who works in the racehorse industry and is married to a US military serviceman, is subject to an interim driving ban and cannot leave the UK without police permission after surrendering her passport.
Malcolm Plummer, mitigating, said she had taken her eyes off the road in a "momentary lapse" before the crash.
She had lived in the UK for three years and was used to driving on the left side of the road and believed she veered right in order to avoid colliding with a group of motorcyclists, he added.
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