Police collision in hazardous driving conditions – Essex Police, January 2021

A police officer responded to reports that a stolen car had been identified on a motorway. They began their journey to support police colleagues to stop the vehicle. The driving conditions were hazardous due to rain and standing water. The police officer lost control of their car while on their way to their colleagues. They were travelling at high speed and crashed into a member of the public’s car. The driver of that car sustained serious injuries. 

We received a death or serious injury referral from Essex Police, and the incident was recorded as a conduct matter. 

We decided to independently investigate the circumstances of the collision between the police car and the civilian car. We looked at how the police responded to the incident before the collision, whether any risk assessments were made by the officers and if they were appropriate, and whether the officers acted in accordance with local and national policies, procedures and guidance.

Our investigators obtained statements from the occupants of the vehicle involved in the collision, including the injured person, gathered reports relating to the accident, examined telematics data and obtained a report from an expert witness. The police driver was also interviewed by our investigators.

At the conclusion of our investigation, we sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider criminal charges against the officer.  

The CPS authorised charges against the officer for causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The officer was found not guilty. 

We also recommended that the officer should face a gross misconduct hearing. While we believe there was a case to answer for gross misconduct, we withdrew our recommendation due to the verdict given at the trial and the liaison that took place between Essex Police and the injured person. This included the opportunity for restorative justice (a process where the person harmed and the person responsible can share how the incident affected them). 

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. 

We did not identify any organisational learning in this case.