Extract from
Westminster Hall debate on Victims of Road Traffic Offences:
Criminal Justice System
(Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
(Lab):...In the months after the incident, officers from the
serious collision unit of South Wales
Police worked tirelessly to put a case together to
provide justice for the family. In short, all tests concluded
that the car was mechanically sound, and that it had rolled
because the handbrake was not fully engaged, and the automatic
transmission was not fully placed into park mode...
...With the support of South Wales
Police and the CPS, Pearl’s parents seek a change in the
law to prevent other families from finding themselves in a
similar situation, unable to secure justice due to a legal
loophole, following such a tragic and completely preventable
incident. As Gemma and Paul acknowledge, it will not help to
bring justice for Pearl, as legislation is not retrospective, but
if the law can be changed to prevent anyone else from suffering
such injustice again, that might provide some comfort...
For context, OPEN HERE
Extract from committee
stage (Commons) of the Criminal Justice Bill
(Swansea East) (Lab): I
rise to speak to new clause 49 on behalf of my hon. Friend the
Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney () and others. The new clause
would amend the Road Traffic Act 1988 to provide that dangerous
and careless or inconsiderate driving offences may be committed
on private land adjacent to the highway. In August 2017,
22-month-old Pearl Melody Black from Merthyr Tydfil was
tragically killed while walking with her father and brother.
Pearl was killed by an unoccupied vehicle that rolled from a
private drive in Merthyr on to a highway and down a hill,
crashing into a wall that subsequently crushed Pearl and injured
her father and brother.
In the months after the incident, officers from the serious
collision unit of South Wales
Police worked tirelessly to put together a case to
provide justice for the family. In short, all tests concluded
that the car was mechanically sound and that it had rolled
because the handbrake was not fully engaged and the automatic
transmission was not fully placed in park mode. The case was sent
to the Crown Prosecution Service in March 2018 and was worked on
by the London office as well as by an independent QC hired by the
CPS. Everyone was hopeful of a conviction under the causing death
by dangerous driving category, and the CPS looked at other
possible options. However, in June 2018 the CPS stated that it
was unable to send the case to court as a glitch in the law
states that the vehicle must have started its journey on a public
road for a prosecution under the Road Traffic Act 1988. Even
though Pearl was killed on a public road, the fact that the
vehicle started its descent from a private drive meant that
prosecution was not possible.
The coroner stated that the vehicle was well maintained and it
seemed that the issue was very much driver operation. The inquest
heard that the handbrake had not been fully applied in park mode.
The inquest into Pearl’s death was heard in October 2018 and the
outcome was that it was an accident. However, with the support
of South Wales
Police and the CPS, Pearl’s parents have been seeking a
change in the law to prevent other families from being unable to
secure justice due to a legal loophole following such a tragic
and completely preventable accident as this. As Gemma and Paul
acknowledge, it will not help to bring justice for Pearl, as
legislation is not retrospective, but if this law can be changed
to prevent anyone else from suffering this injustice again, it
may provide some comfort...
For context, OPEN HERE
