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 wonder if this will lead to restrictions on the size/weight of vehicle allowed to be driven in urban areas.

People won't allow that to happen even though it's entirely sensible.

Anyone can have a seizure at anytime. Lots of people have them once and never again.

Epilepsy as a condition just means you are much more prone to having seizures.

@fiddlesticksohyeah

It is indeed on face value very straightforward.

But as others have said, proving a seizure AFTER the event is exceptionally difficult.

About 10% of the population will have a seizure at some point in their life. Epilepsy is defined as repeated/recurrent seizures so most of these will have just 1 seizure in their life & be perfectly fine and often unaware of the seizure if it's not witnessed.

I do wonder if she hadn't been driving such a huge vehicle whether the injuries would have been so bad and the deaths would have happened.

I think the government should limit the size of vehicles for personal use - it would be environmentally helpful too.

I've no idea what happened here, but that's a very naive view. Medical evidence has repeatedly been proved to be flawed.

Huge oversized cars get defended with the same BS arguments that were used to defend XL bullies: "It's about the driver/owner, not the car/dog" "Any car/dog can kill" "I've actually heard that it's SMALLER cars/dogs that are more likely to kill someone".....

It's bullshit and we should be getting these cars out of dense urban areas. If you have one and you only drive it out of genuine need (farm tracks etc.), fine.

I bet they do. The CPS say the families were kept informed of the investigation progress throughout the process, so they will have known about other avenues the investigation persued.

But what about 'works' vehicles/minibuses/bin lorries?

Be honest though. How many people driving SUVs will be saying ‘how tragic’ but still keep driving them.

How many people who drive and park dangerously around schools will start parking further away or being considerate after this?

Very few.

Plus, the families obviously have a real concern thatI - whilst could absolutely be the case for sure - I don't think should be automatically be put down to "they're grieving and need someone to blame".

I guess the inquest will provide a better picture.

According to the article she had no previous medical history of epilepsy and doctors exanining her found no evidence of any previous seizures.

I assume waiting for a medical diagnosis? Then sending files off to the CPS. The police will also have needed to consider the possibility that the driver is making up a convenient story to avoid prosecution.

There is no specific test for epilepsy, you get diagnosed on pretty much a self reported history of two or more seizures. So someone could start such a narrative to avoid prosecution. I suppose the police/cps will have been making as sure as they can be that its genuinely epilepsy.

But what about 'works' vehicles/minibuses/bin lorries?

They're necessary for society to function.

Every Tom dick and Harry having a Range Rover to drive the equivalent of 4 bus stops in London is not. And the more of them there are, the more dangerous it is for anyone outside of them.

Was she found having seizure at the scene of accident? If it’s so bad that she had no recollection of anything had happened, she’d be found in the state of seizure.

”1 in 25 people will have an unprovoked seizure in their lifetime”

I remember being told this when my dd was diagnosed. It’s surprisingly high how many people have just one seizure without being diagnosed with epilepsy. Lots of people have them.

This is tragic case, but that would be a knee jerk response with far reaching consequences. How would you enforce this? What about fire engines, buses, lorries?

Post seizure confusion can clear up quite quickly but I suppose post crash where you've managed to kill and injure multiple people you'd also be quite dazed etc.

There's only one person who knows if she had a seizure or not.

The families are being unreasonable. It is ok to be unreasonable when you are suffering such grief and pain, which is why our justice system requires that anyone with a personal connection to the case is not involved in the decision-making.

Because there is nothing to suggest the driver could have done anything to predict or prevent this tragedy, it is not in the public interest to pursue a criminal prosecution

The driver didn't do anything reckless or malevolent. She was going about her day and was struck with a seizure which she had never had before so couldn't predict. What justice would be done by prosecuting her? She would be a victim of a serious miscarriage of justice if our legal system was perverse enough to blame her for this.

jailing someone for suffering a seizure with no previous medical history would not be justice.

I feel sorry for all involved. Can you imagine having a child killed in this way, but knowing you killed these kids must be devastating.

In this instance the defence would be automatonism. Essentially the driver / killer was not in control of their actions. This defence absolves the killer/ driver of legal responsibility.

It seems like cps have concluded they won’t get a conviction (reasonable doubt). Therefore it’s not in the public interest to prosecute.

There are lots of times when drivers lose control and are/ should be prosecuted. Speeding, distraction (mobile phone use for example) drink, drugs. It’s foreseeable that these actions could lead to an accident. It’s not foreseeable for previously undiagnosed people to suddenly become I’ll at the wheel. Otherwise none of us could ever drive.

Well law can’t operate on the basis medical evidence can be flawed. It’s got to be taken at face value and the family have no right to trawl through the drivers medical record as she’s been found at no fault so cannot be prosecuted. I get it’s frustrating for the family, but the article I read suggested more than one medical expert had been consulted and all agreed it was an epileptic seizure and the driver had never experienced any prior symptoms so she cannot be blamed. On another note I agree those vehicles in london towns are not required and more likely to injure someone, whether an accident like this or a child running out. They are unnecessary in a city

Medical professionals absolutely did assess her, over a long period of time. I know her family and it was a tragedy all round. She will never get over what happened.

But there are so many non domestic vehicles on the road, especially 9-5 - you'd not be solving this problem by banning SUVs.

(I witnessed the fatal collision of a works truck and a child, hence I'm focused on other methods of ensuring safety than simply going after SUV drivers.)