Jury slams police force over OAP's death

Updated 22.51 Tue Oct 07 2008
Keywords: car, road, killed, dangerous driving, trial, police, Jury

A jury has accused the police of "institutionalised complacency" after an officer was convicted of careless driving following an OAP's death.

Lancashire Police's PC Sean Schofield, 38, was found guilty after the Volvo T5 he was on a training exercise in crossed on to the wrong side of the road and hit an oncoming vehicle driven by retired academic Peter Williams, 67.

Mr Williams died from his injuries in hospital the day after the crash, on November 2, 2006

The police officer ploughed into the VW Touran of Mr Williams, who with his wife Jean, 65, had left their home in Bolton-le-Sands, Lancashire, and were on their way to the Yorkshire Dales for a weekend break on November 1, 2006.

The jury heard PC Schofield had hit speeds of 104mph just before the collision, which shunted the VW backwards and spun it round 180 degrees. Mr Williams died from his injuries in hospital a day later.

The seven men and five women of the jury sent a note to the judge criticising Lancashire Police Force for allowing the high-speed training exercise on the narrow, winding B6254 near Over Kellet, Carnforth, which had a speed limit of 60mph.

PC Schofield, an advanced police driver, and his instructor for the training exercise, PC Andrew Massingham, 41 - who was in another T5 just ahead and dictating the speed his trainee was driving - had both denied a single charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.