PC Mark Roberts was jailed for speeding through a red light while responding to a 999 call where he smashed into an elderly couple and killed a 74-year-old woman
A police officer who raced through the streets in response to a call about a choking baby has been jailed after his car crashed into a motorbike and killed a woman.
PC Mark Roberts of Northumbria Police was responding to the grade-one emergency call when his marked car smashed into an elderly couple, Ronald and Muriel Pinkney, as they rode their motorbike in Gateshead, north East, on July 8, 2022.
A court heard how Roberts, from Darlington, was driving at 43mph on the 30mph stretch of road near the MetroCentre. As he approached the lights, he was driving around 25mph when his car crashed into the couple, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.
Mrs Pinkney, 74, tragically suffered fatal injuries to her head and neck in the horror smash which occurred on a 30mph stretch of road near the MetroCentre. Mr Pinkney also sustained injuries, including a bleed on the brain and several fractures.
The cop has since been prosecuted and convicted of of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving, Birmingham Live reports, despite a plea from the couple’s daughter not to send him to prison.
Roberts was arrested after the collision and answered ‘no comment’ to questions during his police interview but provided a prepared statement.
In it, he said the ambulance service had requested assistance about a choking five-week-old baby, which indicated paramedics did not believe they could get to the patient before police.
Roberts said he took his marked vehicle from Whickham police station, activated his blue lights and sirens, changing the tone of the alert at times, as he made his way through traffic and red lights.
Moments before the collision, the officer saw a white van make an emergency stop. He said: “I couldn’t see anything else before travelling towards the junction. The next thing I recall is there was a bang and both airbags deployed and I hit the windscreen, which knocked me out for a few seconds.”
He he then saw two people on the ground with crash helmets on. Roberts blacked out again and was treated in an ambulance and then taken to hospital. He said: “I believe this was a tragic accident.”
Jurors were told Northumbria Police’s roadcraft guidance stated that risk taking, even in a ‘noble cause’, was not justified. In mitigation, the court heard Roberts was ‘heartbroken’ by the ordeal.
The court was told he had led a ‘remarkable life of public service’, joining the police after an Army career which saw him serve in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
He was jailed for two years and three months at Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday (April 7).
Passing sentence, Judge Francis Laird KC, said: “In my judgement only a custodial sentence can be justified for these offences.”
The judge told Roberts that he was entitled to use exemptions from the speed limit and the ban on driving through red lights but that ‘these exemptions must be exercised cautiously and appropriately’.
“Your speed as you approached the junction was too high,” the judge said. “You observed the junction was clear and you simply chose to drive through without stopping or at least reducing your speed to a point where you could stop should another motorist enter the junction.”
He went on to say: “The evidence suggests Ronald and Muriel Pinkney were visible to you when you approached the junction, however you were so focused on getting to your destination you failed to notice them.”
Roberts was also banned from driving for five years and one month.
The couple’s daughter, Dawn Hunter-Pinkney, said in a statement that the family ‘don’t blame the officer for what happened’.
She said: “For a long time we were angry but the more we hear about why the officer was driving the way he was, the more we understand.” She went on to say: “We don’t want him to go to prison for doing his job.
“We do accept this is a very tragic accident with a very tragic outcome, but sending the officer to prison won’t bring mam back.”
Ms Hunter-Pinkney said her parents had been inseparable and her dad had been ‘devastated’ by his wife’s death, going from doing everything with her to ‘doing almost nothing’.
She said: “My dad used to be very active and fit, now he rarely leaves the house.”
Roberts has been suspended by the force. Andy Hill, assistant chief constable of Northumbria Police, said: “I reiterate my previous comments in recognising that no words will make the pain of Mr Pinkney, his family and anyone impacted by this tragic incident, any easier.
“On behalf of Northumbria Police, I wish to express my sincere condolences for your loss and our thoughts very much continue to be with you at this time.” He added: “Each and every day we respond to emergencies and thankfully tragedies of this nature are extremely rare.
“Officers are highly trained and supported to help ensure they keep both themselves and the public safe. Regrettably, on this occasion the standard of driving fell short of what it is expected which has led to the most devastating of outcomes.”
