An investigation by the Police Ombudsman’s Office has concluded that an advanced police driver drove “below the required standard” while escorting an ambulance which crashed near Brookeborough, Co. Fermanagh, in January 2011.
The accident happened at around 3.30pm on 19 January 2011 as the ambulance was following the officer’s police car while taking a critically ill patient from Enniskillen to Craigavon Area Hospital.
The investigation found that the officer had overtaken a flat bed van which was in a turning lane waiting to turn right. The van then pulled into the path of the ambulance, colliding with it before the ambulance crashed through a fence and into a field.
A doctor in the ambulance suffered serious back injuries and five other people in the vehicle, including the patient, sustained minor injuries.
The patient died several days later, but her death was as a result of her medical condition and unconnected to the collision.
The police driver was subsequently disciplined following a recommendation by the Police Ombudsman, but the disciplinary action was later overturned when the officer appealed to the PSNI’s local District Commander.
The Police Ombudsman’s on call team was informed about the accident by police and commenced an investigation into the way in which the police car had been driven. The wider circumstances of the collision, including the way in which the ambulance and truck had been driven, was investigated by the police.
Routine breath tests were conducted on all three drivers at the scene. None were found to have been drinking.
Due to failing light, the collision scene was cordoned off and examined the following day, at which stage it was mapped, photographed and videoed. All three vehicles involved were examined by a forensic scientist.
The Police Ombudsman’s Office issued a media appeal for witnesses and investigators conducted house-to-house enquiries. Recordings of relevant police radio transmissions were obtained and analysed, and data was obtained from a “black box” recorder in the police car.
The evidence indicated that there had been no contact between the police car and the van – a flat bed Ford Transit.
The driver of the ambulance said that as they approached the Brookeborough turn off, the road veered slightly to the left and the police car pulled out gradually to overtake a number of vehicles. The overtaking lane was clear so he pulled out to follow, keeping at least five to six car lengths behind the police car.
He then saw a vehicle, which had two or three other vehicles behind it, pulling out over the centre of the road and narrowly missing the police car. This vehicle then appeared to pull back out of the way, only to re-emerge in front of the ambulance, at which point he was unable to avoid a collision.
Two civilian witnesses were also identified. One said he had just driven past the Brookeborough turn off when he saw a police car travelling at speed towards him on the wrong side of the road. He said the police car “forced [him] off the road” and he had to immediately pull onto the hard shoulder to avoid a collision.
A lorry driver who had been travelling towards Enniskillen said the police car had gone past him at “an awful speed”, followed a short time later by an ambulance which appeared to be struggling to keep up.
The front seat passenger in the police car said they had been travelling at about 60-65 mph as they approached the turn-off. He said the Transit was not signalling to turn right, but it began to do so as the police car passed, narrowly missing the rear of their vehicle. He then saw the ambulance which was about 150 yards behind, colliding with the Transit.
The police driver said he knew the road and had a view around the bend approaching the Brookeborough turn-off as he began an overtaking manoeuvre. He accepted, however, that his view had been at least partially obscured by a hedge.
He explained that as he overtook the Transit he saw its wheel start to move to the right, at which point he realised there was a risk to the ambulance following behind. However, he said by this stage it was too late.
Although he maintained that he had conducted a safe manoeuvre, he accepted that he had no contingency plan if the Transit pulled right, a scenario he acknowledged would pose a considerable risk to both the police car and ambulance.
Data from the “black box” recorder fitted to the police car showed that it was being driven at a safe speed for an advanced driver, and indicated that the vehicle’s headlights, blue lights and sirens had all been activated at the time.
The police driver’s work and personal mobile phones were also examined, and showed no evidence of having been in use prior to or at the time of the collision.
Having considered the evidence, Police Ombudsman, Dr Michael Maguire, said the overtaking manoeuvre undertaken by the police driver had been “high risk”.
“While he was aware of the road topography, he did not have a totally unobstructed view of oncoming traffic as he rounded the bend,” he said.
“Furthermore, he did not fully consider that there was every possibility that the driver of the van would continue to turn right, unaware of the danger behind him.”
Dr Maguire concluded that the officer’s driving “fell below the required standard”, and also found that he had not shown “reasonable consideration for other vehicles”.
A file was submitted to the PPS, which directed that the officer should not be prosecuted. The Police Ombudsman then recommended that the officer should be disciplined as his driving had fallen below the required standard.
The officer was disciplined by the PSNI, but the sanction was overturned on appeal.