Hayley: CPS looking at charging officer
Jul 24 2008 by Paul James, The Journal
CRIMINAL charges could be laid against the police officer driving the car that killed Newcastle schoolgirl Hayley Adamson.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) yesterday revealed it had sent a file of evidence about the crash to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Hayley, 16, died on May 19 after a marked Northumbria Police patrol car hit her as she crossed Denton Road in the city’s West End. She died at the scene of the crash, sparking a hostile reaction in the Scotswood area that saw police pelted with bricks. The case was handed on to the IPCC, whose commissioner for the North East, Gary Garland, said it was “appropriate” for the CPS in Durham to decide whether to press charges.
He said: “The IPCC refers its investigation files to the CPS for consideration where there is evidence that a criminal offence may have been committed during an incident.
“I have decided it is appropriate in this case for such scrutiny to take place and the CPS will now decide whether it is appropriate to bring criminal charges.”
The IPCC said it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this stage.
Schoolgirl Hayley, of Cedar Road, Fenham, was hit by a police car on the 30mph road just after 11pm on May 19, the night before she was due to sit her English GCSE exam at Sacred Heart RC High School.
Just two weeks before she died, Hayley was a bridesmaid at her elder sister Sarah’s wedding. Police announced that the 40-year-old driver, said to be trying to trace a stolen vehicle, had been suspended on the day of Hayley’s funeral.
The 16-year-old lived with her mother Pat and enjoyed spending time in Scotswood, visiting her nieces and nephews at her sister Sarah’s house in Dorset Road.
The IPCC investigation earlier established – and made public – that the police vehicle did have its headlights on at the time of the incident. It is still not known if emergency equipment was activated or how fast the car was travelling.
A fault was identified with the black box recorder on board the police car, but the IPCC said they have been able to attain information from other sources.
Yesterday a spokesman for Northumbria Police said: “We note the actions of the IPCC and have nothing further to add.”
The CPS yesterday confirmed that the file had been received on Tuesday by lawyers in Durham, who will consider the case.
