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 ?

You know upstanding member of society just is a fancy way of saying a good person?

You have no idea if she is a "good person" or not, not having a criminal record doesnt automatically make you a "good" or a responsible person. It just means you haven't been caught doing anything "bad" is all.

I had a close friend who lost a relative at 21 due to an epileptic fit. Had recently been diagnosed and the hospital and GP surgery were sorting out the right levels of medication. Sadly not in time. She left a young child. Apparently at that time epilepsy was the largest single cause of death in under-25's. I had no idea.

Also had a friend at uni who had a fit. One-off - never again. But she didnt drive for years after just in case. She was told stress over exams, tiredness, alcohol were probably all factors.

Or maybe just a lot of people who want a detached house in Wimbledon.

I feel like those rumors about hired PR company are not entirely unfounded.

I have had epilepsy since I was 7.
EEGs only capture current seizures or show changes in brain electrical activity to certain stimuli at that point.

There is no evidence to be had for past seizures except witness statements from ppl who may have seen the seizure & circumstantial evidence such as injuries from having a seizure such as a bitten tongue, head injury etc. Also 'post ictal' confusion is a good indicator. But it depends whether the seizure was tonic clonic or only partial or petit mal as to the level of confusion there would be. There are dozens of types of epileptic seizures.

CT head scans are useful in that they can sometimes show which lobe(s) the epileptic seizures spread from. Or they can show possible causes of epilepsy such as brain damage, tumours etc.

Older people getting epilepsy out of the blue is a thing; many people actually get their first seizure in their 60s for no apparent reason.

All it takes for her case is a doctor to say that she could have had a seizure and then it will be up to the prosecution to prove she hadn't. Which they can't. They wouldn't proceed with that

Thanks for confirming, people just don't realize how easy it's to fake a past seizure.

'Zero understanding', 'not entitled'? Not exactly dripping with compassion are you?
Please explain to me how the driver's data privacy is more important than their daughters' lives? Not their fault if the Law is an ass. What the parents are 'entitled' to, surely, is to be at peace with the conclusions of the enquiry, wouldn't you say?

My dad has just been diagnosed with epilepsy and he’s 65…

I was fuming after reading the recent article, parents were not provided with any evidence.

Anaesthetist. That's totally incorrect. Can start at any age. Often 1st presentation of brain tumours. Post stroke/brain injury etc etc

Feel sorry for all involved

@wagam

"'Zero understanding', 'not entitled'? Not exactly dripping with compassion are you?
Please explain to me how the driver's data privacy is more important than their daughters' lives? Not their fault if the Law is an ass. What the parents are 'entitled' to, surely, is to be at peace with the conclusions of the enquiry, wouldn't you say?"

It's nothing to do with compassion and you're the only one comparing the two

But I disagree with you, the horrific tragedy of their daughters death does not and should not entitle them to view medical data of third parties especially not without express consent

I also don't presume to think anything will bring the parents peace with the investigation because they want someone to pay for it, understandably however that's not how the law works in these circumstances.

Beyond that I disagree completely with the headteachers giving the interview they did

Oh so do. It’s an absolute heart breaking tragedy and I understand that the parents want someone to be held to account. However there is no blame it was a tragic incident that could not have been foreseen. Had she known she had epilepsy and got behind the wheel then of course that would have been very very different.

Tragic situation but not the lady’s fault. She did nothing wrong. I do feel for the grieving parents though as I’m sure she does herself

I think the article was saying "epilepsy" so I was talking/thinking about this particular diagnosis, not any random seizure. Internet is still saying epilepsy is being diagnosed mostly before 20 or after 60.

@Sirine1708 seriously do you expect police to lay out every bit of evidence including private
medical info of the woman for the families to read over and pass judgment on?

Yes, it is very ‘tough’ for the parents. I can’t blame them for wanting all the information available around how their children came to be killed. Perhaps they would have wanted to see the driver prosecuted so that her defence could be examined in court. If medical evidence was submitted (presumably by the defence) then she would have been exonerated. I don’t think the parents are wrong for not accepting the unchallenged decision that it was an accident.

@maudelovesharold

"Yes, it is very ‘tough’ for the parents. I can’t blame them for wanting all the information available around how their children came to be killed. Perhaps they would have wanted to see the driver prosecuted so that her defence could be examined in court. If medical evidence was submitted (presumably by the defence) then she would have been exonerated. I don’t think the parents are wrong for not accepting the unchallenged decision that it was an accident."

I don't blame them either but I don't see how it's in the public interest to being the woman to trial when the prosecution obviously believe she'd have a clear defence and highly likely found not guilty.

Of course I feel sorry for her, it could literally happen to ANYONE

Imagine living every day knowing you killed 2 people and didn't remember it

I couldn't imagine recovering

The more I think about this case, the more conflicted I become. Is this a case of bereaved parents grieving over such an unthinkable, painful event that they're seeking answers and blame where there are none? Or is there a thinly veiled implication that something is amiss with the driver, the diagnosis and the lack of prosecution? Would this be feasible? Could the medical evidence be faked, or a fierce lawyer husband intimidate the police?

After reading and posting here I've realized this woman will never be prosecuted because noone can prove she didn't have that occurence. Unless some evidence have been omitted by police.

My friend had a seizure in her late 30s - never had one before, never had one since. She lost her license for a while after - a year I think. She's had lots of tests, no one knows why it happened. She's been perfectly fine moments before, no illness, nothing - it just came out of nowhere.

Luckily she was at home with her family, not driving.

I also fainted without any warning in my 30s - again at home, with my DH thankfully. Never happened since.

It happens.

The image is from the article linked earlier in the thread. Distracted might be mounting the pavement and knocking over a pedestrian or driving through a red light. She knocked down a pavement barrier, mounted the kerb, knocked down a fence and continued in a straight line through a group of people until she crashed into the building. At no point did she swerve and a witness (same article as photo) said the car seemed to accelerate not brake. The police will know what speed she hit the building and if she applied her brakes.

Have you never had an animal run out on you when driving? I have and it’s really hard not to swerve as it’s instinctive. Now imagine that’s a group of people in your way.

Being wealth would have made a difference.

It's probably just media ignorance of medical terminology. You can't diagnose epilepsy on a single seizure, fullstop