BMW recall failure ‘to blame for death crash’
A CORONER criticised BMW and the Government driving agency for failing to take action about a fault in one of the German company’s cars that led to the death of a Gurkha veteran.
Narayan Gurung, 66, was killed when he swerved his Ford Fiesta into a tree on a dark road to avoid hitting a 2011 BMW 318i saloon that had lost all electrical power.
Surrey assistant coroner Anna Loxton yesterday said BMW had been ‘negligent’ in failing to recall cars with the fault before the accident. Since then about 370,000 have been checked for the intermittent problem. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency contributed to the death through its ‘indolence’ as it failed to demand action – despite raising concerns about the exact scenario in which Mr Gurung died.
Mrs Loxton was unable to conclude that the father of three was unlawfully killed because there was insufficient evidence of gross negligence, which could have led to charges of corporate manslaughter.
Instead, she recorded a narrative conclusion at Woking Coroner’s Court criticising BMW, its importer and the agency for failing to recognise the risk of a complete power outage on an unlit road.
Mr Gurung’s family, from Aldershot, had wanted BMW to face criminal charges, and afterwards blamed those involved for his ‘tragic and unnecessary death’ on Christmas Day 2016.
Their solicitor Emma Potter said: ‘Today’s ruling does not represent a comforting or satisfying conclusion. This case raises critical questions surrounding vehicle safety standards in this country, as well as the conduct of both the DVSA and of BMW UK and BMW AG. The delay ultimately contributed to Mr Gurung’s death.’ A Report to Prevent Future Deaths will be issued to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and DVSA boss Gareth Llewellyn.
BMW was made aware of 19 cases of electrical faults from 2011 to 2014. It was caused by a cable which could heat up to 250C as the car moved.
The DVSA and BMW had a meeting in 2014 where the consequences which could arise if a car had an electrical failure in darkness were discussed. Mrs Loxton criticised the DVSA for having no protocol for investigating safety-related defects quickly. However, she added BMW UK ‘cannot hide behind the shortcomings of the DVSA’.