Police officer not to blame for crash while answering 999 call

A police officer on a 999 call was not to blame for a crash that left an elderly man seriously injured, an investigation has found.

Four people were taken to hospital following the three-vehicle collision in Kirkcaldy on March 8.

The police car was responding to a report of a stolen vehicle being driven dangerously in Falkirk and had its emergency blue lights and sirens on when the crash happened.

Earlier that day, the stolen vehicle had struck a member of the public, leaving them seriously injured.

An investigation by the police watchdog found – as the emergency vehicle was driven along Oriel Road towards the junction at Strathallan Drive – a Kia driven by an 87-year-old man moved forward on to the road and into its path.

The police car did not have time to take evasive action and collided with the offside of the Kia, causing it to then collide with an Audi.

The driver of the Kia was seriously injured while the woman driving the Audi and the driver and passenger in the police car were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

A report by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) found the police driver was “not at fault for the collision”.

It said: “The Kia car initially positioned in the bell mouth of the junction at Strathallan Drive failed to see the police car approaching on Oriel Road and pulled out from the junction into the path of the oncoming police car.

“The police driver was unable to take evasive action and the two vehicles collided, causing the Kia to subsequently collide with another oncoming car.”

A man was later reported by police to the procurator fiscal in relation to the collision but no action was taken.

The PIRC report highlighted the officer driving the car was a trained police advanced driver and the police car had its emergency lights and sirens activated at the time of the collision.