Fatal collision - Norfolk Constabulary, July 2017
On 27 July 2017 a woman telephoned Norfolk Constabulary to report concerns for her sister who had left their home after threatening to kill herself. An incident was created and officers were deployed to the scene. During this call the caller provided details of her sister’s approximate location and the possibility she might walk out into the road in front of a car.
A further call was received by Norfolk Constabulary from a man driving nearby. This man reported a distressed woman in the road.
The first police vehicle attending this incident had its emergency blue lights illuminated. The woman walked out from the nearside of the road in front of the police vehicle and there was a collision. The woman died as result of the injuries she sustained in the collision.
Our investigation found that the attending officers were not provided with the information received during the two calls regarding the woman’s possible intentions, her distressed condition and her location.
During the investigation, our investigators obtained statements from the police driver, other officers, police staff, paramedics, and witnesses who had seen the woman walking in the road.
A forensic collision investigator examined the police vehicle and found no faults with the police van that might have contributed to the collision.
It was concluded the actions of the woman afforded insufficient time and distance for the police driver to react and avoid a collision.
The Investigator formed the opinion that, had the police driver been aware of the information from the two calls, the collision may have been avoided or it may not have proved fatal.
There was an indication that a call operator may not have complied with force policy, which could constitute misconduct, and that the performance of a second call handler could be considered unsatisfactory.
After reviewing our report, the force identified that this would best be dealt with as a performance issue, with the call handlers receiving additional training.
We agreed that their proposal was appropriate.