Parents of girl killed by runaway car welcome MP’s bid to change law
THE parents of a young girl killed by a runaway Range Rover have welcomed an MP’s bid to change the law to mean driving offences on private land can be prosecuted.
Pearl Black was 22 months old when a Range Rover rolled across a road and demolished a wall which fell onto her in Heolgerrig, Merthyr Tydfil, in August 2017.
An inquest heard that the vehicle’s handbrake hadn’t been applied and it wasn’t in park mode, yet the family said they were unable to seek a prosecution because the vehicle’s motion began on private property before rolling across a road.
Their Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney MP, Labour’s Gerald Jones is now trying to bring a backbench bill into law to amend the Road Traffic Act 1988 to include offences which begin on private land. The bill was introduced in the Commons last week.
In a statement yesterday, Pearl’s parents Paul and Gemma Black: “We are so relieved that the first hurdle towards changing the outdated law that allowed the owner of the vehicle that caused Pearl’s death to go unpunished has been overcome.
“A law change will be too late for us, but it will stop any other family from experiencing the added heartbreak of having no accountability for their loved ones death.
“We are so grateful to Gerald for all his hard work on this – and we are prepared for whatever it takes to see this amendment through to fruition – for Pearl.”
Introducing his Driving Offences (Amendment) Bill in the Commons, Mr Jones said there must be “serious consequences for careless or reckless behaviour” demonstrated by motorists, even when initiated on private land.
He said: “In August 2017 a 22-month-old girl, Pearl Melody Black from my constituency of Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney was tragically killed whilst walking with her father and brother.
“Pearl was killed by an unoccupied vehicle that rode from a private drive in Merthyr Tydfil onto the highway, down a hill, crashing into a wall that subsequently crushed her and injured her father and brother.
“In the months after the incident officers from the Serious Collision Unit of South Wales Police worked tirelessly putting a case together to provide justice for the family.
“In short, all tests concluded that the car was mechanically sound and that it rode because the handbrake was not fully engaged and the automatic transmission was not fully placed into park.
“The case was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service in March 2018 and was worked on by their London office as well as the independent QC hired by the CPS to consult.
“Everyone was hopeful of a conviction under the Death by Dangerous Driving category, and the CPS also looked into other possible options.
“In 2018 however, the CPS stated that they were unable to send the case to court as a glitch in the law states that the vehicle must have started its journey on a public road to make a prosecution under this legislation that is the Road Traffic Act 1988.
“Even though Pearl was killed on a public road, the fact that the vehicle started its descent from a private drive has meant that prosecution was not possible.”
Discussing a change in the law, Mr Jones added: “As Gemma and Paul (Pearl’s parents) acknowledge, it won’t help bring justice for Pearl as legislation is not retrospective, but if this law can be changed to prevent anyone else from suffering this injustice again, it may provide some comfort.”
Mr Jones’s Driving Offences (Amendment) Bill was listed for a second reading on January 15, 2021, but the a lack of parliamentary time will be a major obstacle to it becoming law.