Woman injured in crash hails duke’s decision to give up licence
A DECISION by the Duke of Edinburgh to surrender his driving licence has been welcomed by a woman injured in a crash which he caused.
It comes as prosecutors consider whether or not to charge Prince Philip over the accident which injured two women.
Philip, 97, voluntarily gave up his credentials to Norfolk Police on Saturday.
The force said a file on the investigation into the crash last month had been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
A CPS statement said the file would be reviewed before a decision to charge or not was brought, and noted that prosecutors “will take this development into account”.
One lawyer had previously suggested the duke could avoid any potential prosecution for driving without due care and attention by giving up his licence.
Philip apologised for his part in the accident on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk when his Land Rover Freelander collided with another car, leaving two women needing hospital treatment.
On Saturday, a statement from Buckingham Palace said: “After careful consideration, the Duke of Edinburgh has taken the decision to voluntarily surrender his driving licence.”
Norfolk Police confirmed that Philip had “voluntarily surrendered his licence to officers”.
The duke’s driving woes began on January 17 when his car flipped over after he pulled out into a busy A road and collided with a Kia, carrying a nine-month old boy, his mother and another passenger.
He escaped injury, but passenger Emma Fairweather broke her wrist and called for the duke to be prosecuted if he was found to be at a fault.
She said: “Undoubtedly the roads will be safer now. It [the decision] won’t have been easy for him to make as it is a loss of independence. But he can work around it.”
In a letter dated January 21, Philip wished Ms Fairweather a “speedy recovery” and said he “failed to see the car coming”.