The driver in the Wimbledon school accident won't be charged?

[RiverF]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw4448xx4keo

It sounds like a unavoidable and unforeseeable medical incident led to the tragedy, but the families wanted justice.

I can't begin to imagine their pain, but this is the right decision?

Maybe the parents don't believe that? I don't know, but presumably that's what the investigation was for.

Perhaps if she'd been driving a smaller, lighter vehicle the damage would have been less.

that's the only thing she could have done differently

Two friends of mine had their first (and last) seizure as adults. Both had to stop driving for a period until they were cleared to do so again.

There is a question over the lack of evidence however, what evidence would be needed? There is a suggestion that the evidence isn’t robust but doesn’t suggest what that is.

Presumably her neurological condition would have been monitored since then which is why the trial could have taken so long. The cause and reasoning for it to suddenly manifest would need to be investigated, as well as monitoring frequency, type etc. those things don’t happen over night as epilepsy doesn’t work that way.

It’s utterly tragic for all concerned and I couldn’t even begin to come to terms with it. From what I’ve read, it was absolutely the right decision.

The CPS said there was no evidence Ms Freemantle had ever suffered a similar seizure before and she had no previously diagnosed medical condition.

Interesting

Not at all. It can manifest at any time. A childhood friend had her first ever seizure at my birthday party when we were teens.

My child has epilepsy; not from birth. No family history. It can ‘just occur’. It’s a horrible condition.

It was the only conceivable verdict.

Maybe it took so long because she had to have so many tests and be monitored to be properly medically assessed
To see if she is now having regular seizures or if she's even had another one since.

My sister had her first seizure in her late 30s. It came out of the blue. One night, boom, tonic-clonic seizure. In her case she did go on to have more and is now on medication but you can go your whole life with nothing then out of the blue you've got epilepsy.

She has never had a seizure before so I couldn't have been prevented.
Seizures and epilepsy can do that.
My husband had seizures out of the blue at age 33.
According to the DVLA if your seizure free for a year you can drive again.

It's a horrendous accident, that is what it is..an accident!

I couldn't imagine the pain of loosing a child.

The women now has to live her whole life knowing that she has killed someone and also that she could now have a life changing/life limiting (as you can die from SUDEP) illness.

Reading between the lines of the Guardian article, I think the parents want to see her medical records and the police/CPS won’t share these - as they shouldn’t, since they’re private and confidential. The parents’ statement says they’ve seen ‘no evidence’ to support the CPS decision not to prosecute.

I feel for the parents but, really, why would the police/CPS not investigate properly, or cover something up? Absolutely no reason to, it’s the death of two children.

Agreed, a prominent YouTuber has just been diagnosed with epilepsy in her 30s (Kara from Kara and Nate). In her case there were some symptoms a few years leading up to her first seizure which in hindsight gave some cause for concern, but nothing from childhood.

I feel so desperately sorry for the parents that there is no-one to blame for this awful accident, no sense that justice can be done. And I feel so desperately sorry for the driver. What a tragedy.

A desperately sad and tragic incident that couldn't have been predicted and could happen to anyone. Nobody knows what's coming so appreciate what you have x

Because they were conducting a really thorough investigation into whether she’d really had a seizure and then whether she had any concerning medical history, at a guess.

The parents are desperate for a narrative of blame to give their tragedy meaning. Life hasn't supplied one. No evidence would satisfy the families unless it gave them a target for blame. And the police and CPS are not going to prosecute a woman who hasn't committed a crime.

It's an awful, tragic situation. I feel for the families. And also for the driver.

I can understand that. It's not a 'reasonable' thing to ask but it is understandable.

I can only say that if I was the driver I would have requested they be allowed to sit with a doctor and go through my medical records. (I wouldn't give them copies to keep but I'd want them to be allowed to look through them under a doctor's supervision)

But of course she has no obligation to do so and it would not be a reasonable thing to demand of her.

And tbh unless the parents are doctors they wouldn't be able to assess the notes or interpret test results anyway. They'd purely be looking to see if the word seizure appeared anywhere before the accident.

This wording is odd:

“Significant inquiries carried out by specialist officers into the events leading up to the collision established that the driver suffered a previously undiagnosed seizure which caused her to lose control of the vehicle.

"Previously undiagnosed seizure".

It does appear to be a straightforward, unpredictable, shocking accident.

But there is something slightly off about it IMO.

Seems fair. No crime was committed.

@ReallyNotTheBestDayEver you only get diagnosed with epilepsy if you have had 2 seizures as the statistics show that anyone could have 1 seizure at any time in their life.

So yes the first seizure (if the poor women has gone onto have more and further investigations such as an MRI and EEG) the first seizure would be a previously undiagnosed seizure..

And they'll live with it for the rest of their life

Reading between the lines I'd say that a seizure has been diagnosed as the most likely cause, rather than the definitive cause. I assume the families are sceptical.

I don't think there were any eye witnesses who saw the car before it left the road.

The driver has surrendered her licence but will get it back in a year if she has no further seizures.

It wasn't her fault but the damage would not have been as great if she wasn't in such a massive SUV.

SUV may be really safe for the people in such cars but they are really dangerous for everyone else. The government should tax them according. They need to be taxed so we have fewer of them on the roads, not more and more of them.

My son had a single massive seizure at 18 which stopped him driving for about 4 years. He could have had his license back sooner but the admin is labyrinthine.
On meds now and we assume controlled. And it could always have been a one-off (fortunately experienced at home in relative safety). But I've noticed he drives very little - only when he has to, much preferring public transport. I think even a decade on the whole episode unnerves him.

I assume the driver in this case had her first on that fateful day. And in that sense it could happen to any of us. A friend's dad died of a heart attack while driving. Fortunately his wife was able to steer to safety. So it's not just epilepsy that can do this.