Why is the Wimbledon school crash investigation not getting more attention?

[Eesha]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15731159/Eleven-Met-Officers-probed-Wimbledon-crash-killed-schoolgirls.html

Why isnt this bigger news? This school is similar to mine, and it seems like they have great lawyers who got her off.

According to the reporting today, it was requested that she didn't sit in the dock due to her epilepsy. I'd imagine that's what will her defence will be.

It’s just been on the bbc news

This sounds like a crap defence. Has she been shopping, on holiday, to the dentist? Or is she a complete recluse due to the epilepsy? Hmmmmmm.

This barrister will produce a carefully-documented history of medical episodes since the actual crash. Not standing in the dock is only the start of it.

I’ve never heard of anyone not standing in the dock.

I have. It's not that unusual.

Fair enough if it is a thing; I have not heard of it.

Yes quite, this sounds highly tactical to me

Anyone who chooses to drive a needlessly enormous tank around a city carries some culpability irrespective of the other facts

Surely to avoid standing in the dock you would need to be a really severely-affected epileptic, with constant drug-resistant episodes. But I suppose even if she were ordered into the dock she could suddenly experience one. Who is to tell?

If I were investigating I’d want to see a relevant drug prescription and order a blood test to see if said drug was actually in her system.

It got loads of attention at the time, and is still getting attention now, as supported by the fact you had an article to link to.
For an event that happened almost 3 years ago, and was, by all accounts, NOT a pre-meditated thing, I think it's actually had a LOT of coverage.

Its not unusual, do you spend much time in courts?

That is what I thought you would surely have to be very severe not to stand in the dock.

I imagine stress might be a trigger

Well of course that will be her excuse. Whether it is a genuine/reasonable excuse…

I think most people think dock-dodging - whether for trial or sentencing - is poor form to put it mildly.

Morally I agree but they are allowed on the roads so there's no much you can do from a legal perspective.

I would love to think that this case would require all cars over a certain size to be 1/3 smaller than they are but it won't happen.

I would hope that this lady isn't on the roads still if her health is that fragile....

I can't see why anyone who isn't a threat needs to be in the dock at this point.

Docks in UK courts can interfere with the defendent's ability to hear proceedings and communicate with their lawyers. They may also communicate a message that the person is a danger or guilty at a point where they are still presumed innocent. They add to the stress of proceedings, which is in nobody's interest if they want a balanced account of events. So I would be very much in favour of measures like this where the defendent requests it.

If she has committed a crime then whatever sentence she receives will be the punishment. The process of deciding whether she has committed a crime should not be a punishment in itself.

She may or may not be, but stress is a major trigger for seizures.

Sounds like the starting up of the PR machine to me....
Would CF have chosen that KC? I see she's known for high profile and celebrity cases.

I would have a separate category of car licence. Which you could only get after a period of a clean licence for a standard size of car, and have to meet extra requirements such as regular re-take of the theory test, eyesight and perhaps other tests.

Another option which is not of help here would be to place the burden of proof in a crash where an SUV or high performance car is involved that it is not the fault of the driver of the vehicle.

Heavy SUVs can actually breech current rules.

Because these SUVs are so heavy, drivers need to be mindful of gross vehicle weight limits. In the UK, a standard Category B driving licence only permits you to drive vehicles weighing up to 3,500 kg (3.5 tonnes). 1]

Are the bereaved parents getting special treatment for their stress too? Were they given equal privileges in court?

I certainly hope so. Family liaison officers would usually support them and direct them to counselling. Police could arrange to accompany them to and from the court if useful. The prosecution could facilitate arrangements for witnesses to appear behind screens if this reduced stress, but we aren't at that point yet. They could certainly walk and sit with their lawyers if they chose to be there for this hearing at all. They wouldn't be in the dock anyway though.

It’s not her trial, it’s a pre-trial hearing. She would have been given permission to not sit in the dock, and the CPS didn’t oppose the request.

If you mean were they also allowed not to sit in the dock, then yes.

The defendant is currently innocent, why not treat her fairly?