Officer Banned After Police Collision

[Oldbillplod]

A South Yorkshire Police officer has been disqualified from driving for six months and fined £800 after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention.

Pc Kevin Foster, 39, had been summonsed to appear before Wakefield Magistrates Court following an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation into an incident on Sunday 16 September 2007 in which a South Yorkshire Police van was in collision with two pedestrians on the A61, near to Barnsley Golf Course.

A 40-year-old Barnsley man was critically injured and his 36-year old wife sustained a broken leg and facial injuries. The man is still in hospital and faces a long period of rehabilitation.

The IPCC’s independent investigation found that at approximately 12:15am on Sunday 16 September 2007 two West Yorkshire Police officers were dealing with a dispute between a taxi driver and his passengers on the A61 Wakefield – Barnsley Road, near to Barnsley Golf Course. The West Yorkshire Police car was parked on the wrong side of the road with its headlights on.

The South Yorkshire Police van containing two police officers and two passengers was travelling along the A61 in the direction of Wakefield. The South Yorkshire Police van had been travelling in excess of 70mph on the A61. The speed limit for that road is 50mph.

Pc Foster, would appear to have been confused about the position of the West Yorkshire Police car and took evasive action which resulted in him colliding with the two pedestrians on the footpath.

Nicholas Long, IPCC Commissioner for Yorkshire and Humberside, said: "Police drivers are trained to a high level and, therefore, we quite rightly have certain expectations about their standards of driving. In this instance Pc Foster’s driving fell well short of the required standards. He exceeded the speed limit without any reason to do so and failed to pay sufficient attention. As a result two people sustained very serious injuries and I wish them both well in their recovery. "

He added: "Today’s outcome reinforces the fact that if police officers break the law they will not escape the consequences."