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?

I’m sorry for your loss.

Completely agree. Somehow we've become a society that must blame all the time. This was a horrific accident, and I feel for all involved.

You'd think the P in their name would be a clue wouldn't you?

They won't have made this decision from the medical evidence alone - there will also be forensic evidence from the crash (Watch Crash Detectives on iplayer - it's absolutely fascinating how they piece together evidence to work out how a collision happened) - things like marks on the road, the little computer from the air bag that can tell how fast the car was going and how quickly deceleration happened, CCTV evidence - often they will follow a vehicle through several cameras to look for evidence of erratic driving before the accident happened etc etc.

Sometimes accidents happen and it isn't anyone's fault. It's very sad, but putting an innocent woman in prison isn't going to bring the two little girls back

Now waiting for someone to ask 'what does CPS stand for, anyway?' 🙄

You don’t have to persuade me anything. I have not said anything about the person involved. I simply found it odd, because of my own experiences with seizures that I had. I had said obviously there will be various experiences. However that doesn’t change how I fell about it.

This is so very true.

It was an utterly tragic and awful accident. But sometimes we just have to accept that awful tragic accidents happen.

If the driver (mid 40s year old woman) had suffered a heart attack at the wheel instead, having no history of heart disease etc would some people still be insisting this go to court?

The point is that doctors aren't going to put their reputation and livelihoods on the line to keep someone out of jail (and potentially go to jail themselves) Unless she happens to have a neurosurgeon as a relative. But I think the police/CPS might look into that very carefully if she did?

It is actually quite possible that she had a seizure and wasn't just driving too fast.

I guess it could be the case that both were in play.

Usually people who kill people driving ARE prosecuted. Personally I am happy to accept that sometimes things just happen, nobody is to blame and it's not about getting rich people off.

Also, if you disagree with someone, please just disagree without patronising. The first line of your comment was not needed. I am really quite fed up with MNers being patronising.

Exactly.

"Facts don't influence my view." Interesting approach.

For everyone saying 'but smaller cars are safer, these big tanks are so dangerous, if she hadn't been driving a ... ' ..

Those safety tests do not in any way replicate this accident.

They involve a straight collision of single, standing test dummys and show that smaller, differently shaped vehicles the victim tends to go over the bonnet not under it.

This does NOT apply in the type of crash this was... if you ploughed a Corsa through that fence and a bunch of kids sat around a table and into a wall, you would STILL see severe injuries/deaths.

MN can be strange about cars. I drive a high mileage 10yr old Volvo estate, would that fall into tanksville, I need it for work? Although I have radar braking, so would assume my car would have stopped - surprised a state of the art Land Rover wouldn't have that feature.

There are plenty of smaller cars which would do just as much damage and size does not alway equal environmentally friendly.

Also, the women in question won’t have paid for a defence, because she hadn’t been charged with anything. You don’t need a defence if you’re deemed not to have committed a crime.

Other people’s views are not facts.

It's really quite concerning.

Absolutely this!!!

It says in the article it was her first seizure and she had never had one before. Sadly it’s a tragic accident

Who @LordSnot - don't most people, papers included, understand how the CPS works? You can report the mum's statement (which every news outlet has done) without calling for a witch hunt.

One of the selling points of these expensive large SUVs is the safety features.

This car has a forward collision warning system which works by monitoring the road ahead of you and issuing audio and visual alerts if it senses an imminent collision.

It also has automatic and emergency braking system. This displays a warning in the event of an imminent collision and automatically applies the brakes if no action is taken by the driver.

I wonder why these didn't come into effect?

Do they work if the foot is firmly pressed on the accelerator (quite possible with a seizure)? I wonder if that overrides the safety features.

Who are you to judge whether her driving an SUV was reasonable though?

This was an ACCIDENT the same outcome could well have occurred with a smaller vehicle. Stop looking for people to blame when there is none.

I don't know @CandidHedgehog - I'm
hoping someone more mechanically minded can answer.

But I do know if I'd paid top money for all those bells & whistles, I'd want them to work in an emergency.

This thread is enough to make me think we should abolish trial by jury.

Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. I think you're posting to the wrong person.

Glad you realise that. But it is a fact that seizures vary wildly and your experience isn't universal.