Police officer sacked after crashing van into parked car while eating and driving off
A hungry police officer has been sacked after he crashed into parked cars while eating his lunch before driving off.
PC Adejuwon Adebiyi was driving the Ford Transit police van in March when a box of food on the passenger seat began to tempt him.
It caused a ‘significant distraction’ to the officer who began tucking into the unknown meal and swerved into a parked BMW.
But rather than stay behind and own up to the error footage, Adebiyi drove off which ultimately cost him his job.
The Forensic Collision Investigation report said: ‘Whilst the BMW was protruding from the parking bay, there was sufficient room for the van to pass.
‘CCTV footage from the van showed PC Adebiyi was eating from a box on the front passenger seat. This appears to have been a sufficient distraction for PC Adebiyi.’
Adebiyi told both the traffic sergeant and his line manager there was no collision, but the CCTV footage which went viral proved otherwise.
In a misconduct report, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor wrote even if he was unaware there had been a collision – ‘which is unlikely’ – it would have been reasonable for Adebiyi to get out of his vehicle and investigate.
He added: ‘This matter extends beyond the collision itself, to the continued actions in continuing to deny the incident and effectively attempting to cover it up.’
Adebeyi admitted driving without due care and attention, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to report it.
A conduct panel found this amounted to gross misconduct and he was barred from policing.
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AC Taylor also noted videos of the incident were published on social media, which put the officer’s behaviour ‘very much in the public sight’.
The chairman also noted that the car owner’s husband drove the car home not knowing it was a hazard, which had the potential to cause him harm.
AC Taylor said: ‘I do of course understand his remorse and am grateful for his acknowledgement of the impact of this matter.
‘However, the gravity of PC Adebiyi’s behaviour means that I do not consider that any sanction less than dismissal without notice is justified.’
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