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

[bagpuss90]

I’m sure I’ll be flamed here . I totally sympathise with the bereaved parents- I can’t stress that enough. I can understand them wanting justice . As we know the driver of the car suffered an epileptic seizure at the wheel - she had no history of epilepsy. I don’t see what she could have done differently. She has to live with what she did although it wasn’t her fault. AIBU to feel quite sorry for her ?

Im a bit flummoxed as to why pple would automatically trust the police and CPS on this while being highly critical about how they handle sexual harassment and rape cases

This is a very good point.

What % of people with seizures not caused by tumors, bleedings or other health isues that can be named will have the first seizure between 20 and 60?

No cause has been identified for my friend's seizures. He had two more following the first. He is now on medication. He's been seizure free since and can now drive again.

Never found any specific case.

Those cars are designed to mow down everything in their paths while protecting the people inside. Yes, there may be nothing she could have done (although the families, who have seen the evidence, aren't convinced). But it's a shame she didn't drive it into a brick wall rather than those precious children. I'm not convinced a normal-sized car would have caused the same amount of devastation.

My neighbour is in her 50's and had her first seizure last autumn. She's now waiting a year to see if she can drive again.
An acquaintance had her first seizure in pregnancy in her 30's.

The human body, can, and does, go rogue sometimes.

Why keep saying “poor woman” again and again?

It was a terrible accident, and I’m sure if you were the parents of those children you wouldn’t just accept “medical episode” without gold-plated evidence.

I believe that if one hasn’t suffered a seizure for an amount of time one can drive again. I know one thing: if I were the parents I would stalk this woman for the rest of her life and if she even picked up a set of car keys…

A colleague of mine’s elderly aunt ran down and killed a young mother in a supermarket car park. She was adamant it wasn’t her fault; it was the car that killed the woman and she was keen to get back behind the wheel.

When you say you understand they want justice this doesn't make sense to me. The woman hasn't done anything wrong in the sense it was a complete accident . She had never had a seizure before. Why would anyone blast you for feeling sorry for her.

It's not the driver's word. Are you suggesting all the medical staff involved are lying and covering for her too?

I do but she didn't receive a strong enough punishment. They said she had an epileptic seizure, but she's never had one before? So it can't be diagnosed as epilepsy. Alcohol withdrawal? I don't know. But it's just horrendous.

You don't need a "tank" if you live in Wimbledon. But it helps to fit in. Lots of huge cars in that area, and lots of terrible driving too.

She was thoughtless enough to be driving a 3.5 tonne vehicle in suburbia.
Her choice of vehicle plus her fit caused the fence to be smashed down and the children to die.

Did you see the post above where a Nissan micro knocked down a house wall in a similar medical episode?

Friend's car was an average saloon and would have easily knocked down a wall or fence. His foot was clamped to the accelerator. It was only because my dh was in the drivers seat that they stopped the car before damage was done to anyone or anything.

Yes, this was a big car but they aren't illegal to own and drive.

What punishment should someone who has a seizure, heart attack or any other unexpected medical issue get? How do you know she hasn't had another seizure since?

The parents.

And you trust them to keep the information private?

My sympathy really is for the parents first and foremost.
I understand your point OP, I don't know how I could live with myself if I'd ever cause hurt.
However this all seemed to have been handled quite strangely and I trust the parents or the school would not raise concerns at this point if they did not have cause to.

I can go to the GP or A&E tomorrow, tell them I've had a seizure the day before and they will not be able to deny it.
I believe only video evidence could prove she was concious/distracted etc.

I feel a little sorry for her having a medical episode. But anyone who chooses to buy a vehicle like that is deciding to dramatically increase the risk that if anything goes wrong they may slaughter innocent bystanders who would have survived if there was a more suitable vehicle involved

Any SUV, particularly large ones, should be much more restricted on licenses.

This is a bit concerning, from the Guardian:

In their first interviews since the fatalities the Study’s current head, Sharon Maher, and Helen Lowe, who was in charge at the time, told BBC News:

“Maybe when they [the Met] go away and look at the evidence, they will remember the answers. But there were a number of occasions where they weren’t sure if something had been done, or they couldn’t remember.”
“At this moment in time, it would appear that I have been let down by them.”

So they just have to take the police decision on trust?

Or they have zero understanding that they're not entitled to review evidence containing other people's special category personal data aka the medical info of the woman who caused the crash

You are incorrect HTH

I bet the parents of those children drive something similar. Rich enough to live in Wimbledon and send their kids to private school id expect nothing less than a SUV.

This horrific accident happened a year ago, she may have gone on to have subsequent seizures (likely given an epilepsy diagnosis would usually be given after more than one seizure). The public don’t need to know any more details about her private medical records. I’m interested as to what punishment you think would have been appropriate for having a previously unknown medical episode whilst driving?

I of course feel very sorry for the parents of the two little girls killed.

However I also very sorry for the driver. It was completely wrong to picture her in the media, in my opinion.

Why should the parents have to accept anything anyway? The CPS have made their decision. I don't get why people think the parents should accept it with a good grace. They've lost their precious children due to this woman and her car. People expect too much of them if they expect them to accept that it is "just one of those things" and forgive her. They're entitled to howl at the moon if they want to, to challenge and question as much as they want. They don't have to be objective, impartial, when they're secretly wishing she had just smashed herself and her car up. She'll have to find a way to live with what happened that doesn't involve their acceptance, if they're not able to give it.

No it isn't a good point you're comparing apples with pears.