Pc is left with lifelong injuries after A4 crash
Lorry driver jailed, but officer’s injuries ‘have changed so many lives forever’
THE wife of a police officer who sustained devastating brain injuries in a collision with an HGV has told of the moment their lives changed forever.
Claire Drewitt recalled kissing her husband Pc Matthew Midwinter goodbye as he left for a shift and added: “Neither of us knew that the events that were about to unfold only a few hours later would change so many people’s lives forever.”
Last Thursday, 35-year-old HGV driver Andrei Stan was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Reading Crown Court.
Stan, of Craddock Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, had denied causing serious injury to Pc Midwinter and his passenger, Pc Kieren Baker, by driving dangerously on February 27, 2019, but was convicted on both counts.
In her summing up to jurors, prosecutor Carolina Cabral reminded them that Stan had decided to perform a U-turn on the unlit, rural A4 between Hungerford and Newbury at Halfway, in dark, foggy conditions without activating indicators or hazard lights.
She added that Stan had effectively placed an invisible “steel wall across both carriageways –
and left it there”.
Ms Cabral went on: “Even if all his lights had been working, it wouldn’t have made a blind bit of difference.”
Pc Midwinter, who was travelling at less than the 60mph limit, would still have had no chance to avoid the collision, the court heard.
Car passenger Kieren Baker, who suffered life-changing psychological trauma in the incident, said he never even saw the 30-tonne HGV blocking the road.
He told jurors: “Suddenly there was a bang – an incredibly loud noise like an explosion.”
Ms Cabral concluded: “This didn’t need to happen – and the results have been catastrophic.”
Jurors were told that consequently Pc Midwinter, a father to triplets, “can’t work, can’t live with his wife and children and requires 24 hour care – and will do so for the rest of his life”.
Stan told jurors he had checked that the road was clear before he began turning; he believed the manoeuvre was safe to perform and even added that he would “do it again”.
Edward Butler, defending, asked jurors to put aside their horror at what happened and their sympathy for the victims and suggested that Pc Midwinter may have been driving too fast for the conditions.
He added: “Here is a simple and uncomfortable truth... sometimes accidents do happen. Even the best, most competent, careful drivers can make mistakes.
“The crash was a combination of factors, the vast majority of which weren’t under Mr Stan’s control.”
After the case, Pc Midwinter’s wife said in a statement: “My husband left for work that evening, blowing me a kiss goodbye whilst I dozed off to sleep and neither of us knew that the events that were about to unfold only a few hours later, would change so many people's lives forever.
“I would like to thank his colleagues and friends at Thames Valley Police for their support since the collision”
Thames Valley Police spokesman Det Sgt Tony Jenkins said: “This collision was significant and left two of our officers with lifelong serious injuries.
“The incident has greatly impacted on their lives and that of their family and friends.
“Specially trained family liaison officers have supported them throughout.
“During the trial Stan informed the court he did not believe the manoeuvre to be dangerous and he would complete it again. Thankfully, today he has been convicted.
“My thoughts remain very much with the officers involved and their families. I further wish to commend the response of all emergency services on the night and the lifesaving actions they completed.”