Crash PC says woman's death was tragic accident

A police officer who killed a motorbike passenger when he drove through a red light while on an emergency call to help a choking baby said the woman's death was a "tragic accident", a jury has heard.

Muriel Pinkney, 74, died in hospital several days after the bike she was pillion passenger on was struck by PC Mark Roberts near the Metrocentre in Gateshead in July 2022, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Her husband Ronald, who was 77 at the time and was also seriously injured, had right of way and did not see the police car, the court heard.

Roberts, 57 and from Darlington, admits causing death and serious injury by careless driving but denies it was dangerous.

The court has heard the couple's Royal Enfield Himalayan motorbike exited the A1 southbound and was turning on to Dunston Road when Roberts drove the Northumbria Police Peugeot 308 through a red light and struck it at about 15:00 BST on 8 July 2022.

Muriel Pinkney suffered head and neck injuries and died on 17 July at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, jurors heard.

Ronald Pinkney had a bleed on the brain and fractures to his shoulder bone, ribs, pelvis and leg which required two surgeries and kept him in hospital until 5 August, the court heard

In a statement made four months after the crash, Pinkney said he heard a siren but it seemed a long way away and did not appear to be getting any closer, the jury heard.

He also said he did not see the police car before the crash, the court heard.

Roberts, who worked in the military for 22 years before becoming a response officer for Northumbria Police, was interviewed three times about the crash on 12 December 2022, the court heard, in which he gave a prepared statement and then answered "no comment" to questions put to him.

In his statement, the officer, who was based at Whickham Police Station, said he was responding to a grade one emergency call to a five-week-old baby who needed CPR, having been requested by ambulance staff.

Roberts said it was "common knowledge" that when an ambulance asked for assistance, it probably meant they were "not likely to get there in time" but, as a trained first-aider and police driver, he could.

He said he had his blue lights and sirens on and had successfully passed through several red lights with vehicles stopping or getting out of his way before he got to the Dunston Road A1 overpass.

He said he saw the traffic lights were red but a van pulling out ahead of him made an emergency brake to let him pass, the court heard, and he did not see any other vehicles in the way.

As he approached the red light he pressed the centre of the steering wheel to change the tone of his siren from a long wail to a short yelp to alert people to his presence, the court heard.

"The next thing I recall is there was a bang," Roberts said. "Both airbags deployed and I hit the windscreen with my head which knocked me out for a few seconds."

He said he came to and saw two people lying unresponsive by the side of the road, but he collapsed when he went to try and help them.

He was treated at the scene by ambulance staff and also taken to the RVI with neck and back pain.

"I believe this was a tragic accident," Roberts said, adding he wished to offer his "sincere condolences" to Muriel Pinkney's family.

In his closing speech to jurors, prosecutor John Harrison KC said Roberts was travelling at at least 43mph when he went through the red light, which had changed six seconds earlier, while Ronald Pinkney "did nothing wrong".

The prosecutor said Roberts "went speeding across a junction expecting everyone else to stop because he had his siren and lights flashing", but showed a "wholesale disregard" for other drivers.

As part of their "extensive" training, police drivers were told no emergency or "noble cause" would justify an accident or the possibility of killing or injuring someone, it was better to arrive there late than not at all, Harrison said.

He said Roberts should have been travelling at a speed which would allow him to stop and "should have anticipated someone exercising their right of way".

The prosecutor also said the "tragic" case had "no winners or losers".

Luke Ponte, for the defence, said Roberts accepted responsibility for killing Muriel Pinkney and injuring her husband, adding: "There's no question the collision was caused by anything other than Mark Roberts' admirable and urgent desire to respond to a very real emergency."

He said the public would expect emergency services to be at the scene of a grade one call out within 15 minutes, with the crash occurring about eight minutes after Roberts took the call.

Ponte said jurors were assessing a "failure of standards" that was "momentary" and occurred "in the blink of an eye".

Addressing jurors, Judge Francis Laird KC said as a police driver responding to an emergency Roberts was "exempt from certain driving laws that most drivers must obey", including speed limits and stopping at red lights.

But, the judge added, the standard of driving required by him was "precisely the same standard expected of every other driver".

For his driving to be considered dangerous, jurors would have to be sure Roberts' motoring fell "far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver".

The judge told jurors it "would be very understandable" if they felt sympathy for the couple and even for Roberts, who "never intended to cause anyone any harm".

But they should not be influenced by sympathy or emotion when judging the evidence, the judge added.

The trial continues.

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