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?

Who is her husband?

Paramedics called to the scene? Witnesses? CCTV? I’ve seen the aftermath of a fit on several occasions and it is obvious and I don’t work in healthcare.

No, they don't. They need to assess normally that there is at least a 50% chance of winning.

@hazeby interesting, what is the husband's position?

On another note, re some other comments on this thread, my friend had her first seizure, completely out of the blue, when she was nearing 50! She passed out, no recollection of anything. After that she noticed that she had these episodes after she'd been out drinking heavily or if she was very, very tired. But you can most definitely have a sudden episode and 'pass out'. Very sad.

Oh my, she has had brain scans. Which clearly show she’s had an epileptic fit.

Why are people attacking her, this woman suffered a horrendous event.

Interesting that the parents haven't criticised this aspect, perhaps because they drive similar vehicles?

Or because they know the result would likely have been the same irrelevant of vehicle

The driver clearly seemed to have had a seizure, from reports at the time with paramedics on the scene for her, and she will live with this tragic incident for the rest of her life. It's so sad for everyone involved.

I have had seizures before and lasted longer than 1 min. I remember how I felt, what I heard etc. Everyone’s experiences would vary, of course, but to say that she has no recollection at all is a very deliberate statement.

I have no trouble believing that she had no recollection. A relative developed epilepsy out of the blue and the tonic clinics were like a light being switched off for her every time. It’s normal. She had the occasional recollect ion/awareness of some of her complex partials and absence seizures but never the tonic clonics and she remained in a postictal state for quite some time afterwards.

It has been known informally in the area since it happened. It’s only now been formally confirmed after long investigation.

I don't think it is a red flag. If your child has died because someone drove into them, you are naturally going to blame that person and want them punished. It's almost in our DNA. It will be incredibly difficult to accept on a visceral level that they have not done anything wrong, and in your heart of hearts you probably will be blaming them for things like their choice of vehicle and simply for the decision to go out of the house that day. The reality is that you will never be "happy" about any of it. It still doesn't make the driver guilty of any offence.

I think it's natural that the parents are questioning the outcome. When awful tragedies happen, it's human nature to seek out explanations and it's extremely hard to accept that a simple, tragic accident is the reason.

I hope everyone involved is getting the support they need, including the driver, who, in reality, has been sentenced to a life time of misery and remorse.

I do think there is a need to look at 4x4s. No one needs one outside of rural living. I note that some posters have been quick to argue that the results would have been the same in a smaller car, but the reality is that various studies have shown time and time again that pedestrians are much more likely to experience catastrophic injuries when being hit by one of these vehicles. You can still fit two kids and luggage in a Mondeo type car, so there really is absolutely no need.

It's fairly rare, but epilepsy can appear for the first time after a viral infection.

Post-covid onset of epilepsy is over 50% higher than eg post-flu, so I don't think it's surprising medically that there are occasional cases.

Just a horrible tragedy here that it happened whilst the person was driving a large, heavy car.

Could a smaller, less powerful car have even breached the fence to end up in that position?

Being mentally ill is different from being essentially unconscious!
He made choices. Maybe not rational ones but still choices.
A person having a tonic clonic seizure has 0 control over their own body.

If anyone should be prosecuted it is the car manufacturers. It was a large high end car wasn’t it? Shouldn’t there be safety mechanisms. My car slams on for a few blades of grass.

I live in SW London near Wimbledon Common. There are lorries everywhere all day every day!

Why does the fact that people died and were injured mean someone has to be accountable? There is absolutely no sense or logic to that.

Do you have any evidence whatsoever that people have been "paid off"? You do realise that, if they had, they would have been looking at the risk of losing their reputation, their jobs, their homes? What sort of payoff is worth that much?

@Hazelville so have I - I watched my sister with uncontrolled epilepsy die when she was 19 because she kept fitting. I've also had about 30 myself so I'm very aware of what happens pre, during and post seizure.

There is no way anyone would have been able to have seen her immediately post scene and know that she had a seizure rather than had just been in a massive car crash.

I don't think the lawyer helped here. He said

Trevor Sterling, the lawyer representing 20 of the families affected, called the CPS’s decision “disappointing”. He said: “What does this message send to the public, that deaths can arise in a road traffic situation and there could be no sanction because there is no process to interrogate the evidence?

But he should know the law. The driver didn't commit a crime; it was a terrible accident. Sometimes accidents do happen and there is nobody to blame.

The ones I had were the tonic-clonic (grand mal) ones. The things I don’t remember is how they started. However, I was very much aware during and afterwards.

Why do you keep saying this when it isn't the case or certainly not printed anywhere. Unless you happen to know her.

Doesn’t always show up. My dd has had two eeg and definitely has epilepsy.

Bbc article . Read all of it especially paragraphs 3 (epileptic seizure) 11 (her first) and I think 21 if not 23 (neurological specialists).
I too want someone held accountable butvI can see given these findings why they decided not to prosecute.