To actually feel sorry for the woman driving the car in the Wimbledon car accident

I know if I had had such a terrible accident - or dh - I would not be trumpeting about the right to drive again. So hard-hearted.

Yes of course they are. And if they do not think the police have done a good job, there needs to be open and transparent discussion about their concerns. But it is also the case when something as tragic as this happens that we want to blame someone - in this case the driver - and its hard to accept that it was an accident. A terrible accident. its not shutting down discussion to address the misinformation being spread here - such as the ignorant remarks about seizures.

Could you quote these posts.

I feel for her too. I would struggle to live with that - anyone with a conscience would. It wasn't her fault but her actions did cause those deaths. The guilt must be horrendous. I'm not going to compare it with how the parents feel but I'm sure the driver will struggle with it long term.

I feel it was poor form for the head to speak about things they don't know about related to the driver/charges etc. If you've never had a seizure and are clear to drive with no medical reason not to, then this is a horrific accident that has harmed everyone who was involved. As a parent my heart aches for the parents and as a human I feel nothing but empathy for the driver. It could be anyone who had a first time medical emergency.

Having said that if I were the driver I would never want to go behind the wheel again, out of deep respect for the families and the possibility of another seizure.

There are no winners here.

And I am surprised at, yes, the very vigorous defending of the driver. Almost brushing off the fact that two little girls were crushed to death.

The are very clear and fair rules about this if she adheres to them she will be able to drive again.

If she feels she can not I would understand this if she feels she can, I have no issue with this.

So you'd take the law into your own hands and become a cold blooded criminal.
I hope you don't have any medical conditions at all. Though hang on you have eyes, detatched retinas can just happen.
Morally you should never get behind the wheel of a car!

An EEG can pick up unusual brain-activity linked to an increased risk of a seizure in much the same way that blood pressure or cholesterol levels can indicate a higher risk of heart attack.

Well, as I said earlier, if I were the parents and saw this woman driving again…..

Morally this woman should not get behind the wheel of a car ever again.

It’s not about the defending the driver.

But the vast majority of reasons that the driver should have been prosecuted is completely made up out of thin air and from people’s feelings. Yet the same people are claiming that the police investigation can’t be relied on as though their musings have more chance of being right.

In cases like this witness statement’s count for very little as they are unreliable, more often than not, because of how the brain works.

The same people banging on about how the rich driver probably bought their way out, completely ignoring the parents are also wealthy, haven’t even thought why the head teachers would be so keen to have the driver blamed. They make up stories of black mail about the driver and taking the head teachers words as gospel but can’t conceive that the head teacher may have their own agenda. It’s likely that people all have a different point of view, but funny how conspiracy theories are only going one way.

There’s so much information here that’s complete fantasy. You can’t develop epilepsy over 40, she might have been hung over, they probably didn’t check for drugs (despite it being standard), she has been smiling since, she didn’t leave her job, she might sell cars that are the same brand as the ones she is driving (I mean come on, if non of us had anything to do with a brand of car because one car of the brand killed someone we wouldn’t have cars at all), she also might have done an interview before hand, she hasn’t said sorry oh wait she had but that means nothing.

And most of all, if she didn’t have an episode of ill health she must have just decided to drive at the kids on purpose?

and of course she should be allowed to drive. If she meets all the requirements that all people with epilepsy have to meet. Under what rules should she be not allowed to drive?

Epilepsy can occur at any age and for a wide range of reasons.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/epilepsy/

Think of it as symptom rather than a disease or disorder - much like a cough can be caused by many very different things, so can an epileptic fit.

Yes, in the same way anyone else can.

As does every other driver who has had a seizure. Seizure free for one year before you are allowed to drive again.

It's a horrible accident. I feel sorry for the parents and the driver. There is no justice to be had and I imagine no peace ever for any of them.

She'll have to abide the the strict rules of the DVLA.

Yes. Unless the law is changed so that every other driver who has been seizure free for the prescribed length of time is banned from driving again. She was unfortunate enough to have a first seizure behind the wheel and it resulted in a tragic accident. It could happen to any one of us, so why should she be singled out for different treatment when the law of the land states that if you are seizure free - medicated or unmedicated - for one year, then you are able to drive again.

Completely agree

I don't think people are necessarily defending the person but the system that's assessed that it wasn't in the public interest to prosecute. As that's the case, if her seizures are controlled for the requisite period and she meets all the medical requirements under what power would you presume to stop her? Do you think everyone who has ever had a seizure should not be allowed to drive?

Do those vigorously defending the driver believe that she should be able to drive again, should no further seizures take place for the legal period of time?

This.

EEG’s show evidence of seizures up to 48 hours after the event, and if no evidence at the time, a sleep deprived EEG will show epilepsy related markers. There is also a blood test which can detect seizure markers in the form of raised immune responses. I don’t think that the fact no witnesses saw any evidence of post seizure confusion means very much, as if it was an absence seizure of a few seconds there would be little after effect. I think the fact that this wasn’t followed up was probably an indication that there was medical evidence pointing to a seizure.

I said this earlier but in case it was missed - on bbc IPlayer there is a good documentary series called crash detectives, which shows the work that goes into investigating fatal crashes. They very much don’t take anyone’s word for anything.

As devastating this is for the parents and staff they do not have the right to see someone else’s medical notes. A lot of work will have been going on behind the scenes they won’t know about and maybe the police communication should have been better.

There is a reason relatives and loved ones aren’t involved in the justice system - their grief clouds and distorts their reasoning. They want the person who has caused them so much pain to suffer. So it is not surprising they are angry.

I think that’s very much the thought of some involved with this case. Yes she now has a diagnosis, but if someone told a doctor theyd had a seizure, and then a short while later said they had have another seizure then they would be diagnosed. They can give you a scan but even if there’s no evidence of a seizure on the scan you would get a diagnosis because not everyone will have markers/damage visible on the scan So it’s possible she’s had an test which does show evidence of a seizure but also possible her tests didn’t show any evidence.

saying that you can definitely develop it in adulthood (my dad did).

also I believe that the evidence at the scene shows no braking or swerving occurred which backs up the likelihood of it being a medical episode.

i think in all likelihood she did have a genuine seizure but I can understand the parents being angry and in denial and wanting someone to blame. I also agree the women shouldn’t have been named and shouldn’t have to share her medical records with the families, I’m sure she has shared them with the police.

Typically after a seizure people are confused 'post-ictle' and take a while to come around but none of this was reported by the witnesses/ambulance service who were there, and then not interviewed in this regard. This inability to recall/must have been a seizure is the standard excuse that's trotted out to absolve responsibility when someone’s had an accident. However normally this is relatively easily disproved/unlikely from the witness statements in the absence of classic post seizure signs. For some reason there doesn't seem to have been the drive to do that here so unsurprising that there's an opinion she's dodging justice which leads to feelings of anger

If it was a momentary absence seizure this may not be the case. These seizures usually last less than 10-20 seconds and the person may be confused for a few seconds and then back to normal, so there would be nothing to see from the point of view of the witnesses, but an absence of this length of time would be enough to cause the accident. It’s also important to note that not everyone is confused or dazed after a seizure - it depends on the type and duration. If there was no move to use the witness statements as proof that no seizure had taken place, then is it not possible they didn’t need to if they already had evidence that she had had a seizure ?