Police officer jailed after killing pensioner in crash as he sped ‘towards choking baby’

The family of a motorbike passenger killed after being struck by a speeding police car appealed in vain to the judge to not send the officer to prison ‘for doing his job’.

PC Mark Roberts was answering a call about a choking baby when he went through a red light and smashed into motorcycling couple Ronald and Muriel Pinkney in his marked police car.

Mrs Pinkney suffered fatal head and neck injuries in the crash on a 30mph stretch of road near the MetroCentre in Gateshead in July 2022.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said Roberts was driving at 43mph as he approached the lights and was still going at around 25mph when his vehicle collided with the couple.

The 57-year-old officer, who lives in Darlington, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and jailed for two years.

He was also convicted of causing Mr Pinkney, who suffered a bleed on the brain and multiple fractures, serious injury by dangerous driving.

The prosecution said Roberts should have approached the junction more slowly and told the jury the police’s roadcraft guidance stated that risk taking, even in a ‘noble cause’, was not justified.

A statement from the couple’s daughter, Dawn Hunter-Pinkney, said the family ‘don’t blame the officer for what happened’.

‘For a long time we were angry but the more we hear about why the officer was driving the way he was, the more we understand,’ she said.

The victim impact statement, read during the sentencing hearing at Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday, went on to say: ‘We don’t want him to go to prison for doing his job.

‘We do accept this is a very tragic accident with a very tragic outcome, but sending the officer to prison won’t bring mam back.’

Ms Hunter-Pinkney said her parents had been inseparable and her father had been ‘devastated’ by his wife’s death, going from doing everything with her to ‘doing almost nothing’.

‘My dad used to be very active and fit, now he rarely leaves the house,’ she said.

In mitigation, the court heard Roberts was ‘heartbroken’ by the accident and had led a ‘remarkable life of public service,’ joining the police after an Army career that saw him serve in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

But Judge Francis Laird KC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, jailed Roberts for 27 months, saying: ‘In my judgement only a custodial sentence can be justified for these offences.’

The judge told Roberts that as a police officer he was entitled to use exemptions from the speed limit and the ban on driving through red lights, but that ‘these exemptions must be exercised cautiously and appropriately’.

Judge Laird said: ‘Your speed as you approached the junction was too high.

‘You observed the junction was clear and you simply chose to drive through without stopping or at least reducing your speed to a point where you could stop should another motorist enter the junction.’

He went on to say: ‘The evidence suggests Ronald and Muriel Pinkney were visible to you when you approached the junction, however you were so focused on getting to your destination you failed to notice them.’

Roberts was also banned from driving for five years and one month, and must pass an extended retest to get his licence back.

Roberts, who has been suspended by his force, was arrested after the collision and later answered ‘no comment’ to questions during his formal interview but provided a prepared statement.

In it, he said the ambulance service had requested assistance about a choking five-week-old baby, which indicated paramedics did not believe they could get to the patient before police.

Roberts said he took his marked vehicle from Whickham police station, activated his blue lights and sirens, changing the tone of the alert at times, as he made his way through traffic and red lights.

Moments before the collision with the Pinkneys’ motorbike, the officer saw a white van make an emergency stop, he said.

‘I couldn’t see anything else before travelling towards the junction,’ the officer said in his statement, which was read out in court on Tuesday.

‘The next thing I recall is there was a bang and both airbags deployed and I hit the windscreen, which knocked me out for a few seconds.’

He then saw two people on the ground with crash helmets on.

He blacked out again and was treated in an ambulance and then taken to hospital.

Roberts said: ‘I believe this was a tragic accident.’

Assistant Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, Andy Hill, said: ‘Today, I reiterate my previous comments in recognising that no words will make the pain of Mr Pinkney, his family and anyone impacted by this tragic incident, any easier.

‘On behalf of Northumbria Police, I wish to express my sincere condolences for your loss and our thoughts very much continue to be with you at this time.’

He added: ‘Each and every day we respond to emergencies and thankfully tragedies of this nature are extremely rare.

‘Officers are highly trained and supported to help ensure they keep both themselves and the public safe.

‘Regrettably, on this occasion the standard of driving fell short of what it is expected which has led to the most devastating of outcomes.’

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