We’ll never give up fighting for our girl...
Motorbike rider Vicky Lovelace-Collins died after a road traffic accident that echoed the case of Harry Dunn, with the driver quickly leaving the country after the crash. Now Vicky’s determined family, are on a mission for justice
The family of tragic Vicky Lovelace-Collins could hardly believe their eyes when they read of the death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn – knocked off his bike and killed by a driver who then left the country, escaping justice. Because just 11 months earlier they had lost senior paramedic Vicky, 37, in similar circumstances. She was also killed on her motorbike in a crash with a car – and the female Turkish driver involved fled abroad and has never returned. This was just like American diplomat’s wife Anne Sacoolas who was on the wrong side of the road when she hit Harry in 2019. Sacoolas claimed diplomatic immunity and remains in the US, much to the despair of Harry’s family. It’s a despair shared by Vicky’s grieving wife Naomi, mum Wendy and her sister Louisa. Vicky had been out for lunch with a friend when her motorbike was hit by a car just yards from her home in Stevenage in 2018. The accident knocked Vicky’s helmet off, leaving her with catastrophic head injuries, a fractured pelvis and a broken wrist. In a cruel twist, her wife of five years, Naomi, had spotted the accident further down the road as she returned from work. As she entered their home, she called out to Vicky that her help might be needed at the scene of the accident – but was met with silence. A knock at the door some time later brought her the news that was to change her life for ever. It was Vicky she had seen being tended to by her own colleagues at the roadside. A day and a half later, doctors at Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge told the family that nothing more could be done. “We had to let Vicky go,” says Naomi. “Nothing can prepare you for watching a loved one die. You learn to make room inside for the pain. It’s really difficult to find the desire and motivation to face the world when half of you is gone.” The family was already reeling from the loss of Vicky’s father, Mick, who had died of cancer just four months beforehand. But more heartache was to come when, weeks later, Naomi, 46, learned that the driver involved in the collision had returned to her native Turkey, leaving her husband and children in the UK. “The day after Vicky died, our family liaison officer went round and told the woman driver that Vicky hadn’t made it. Her reaction was to fall to the floor in disbelief,” says Naomi. “We didn’t hear straight away that she then left the country. It was some weeks later. “She was just spoken to at the roadside and she left before she could be formally interviewed, but I have to live with the consequences of the accident every day. “For at least a year afterwards I could clearly see where investigators had put marks on the road – the outline of the woman’s car and a circle where Vicky’s helmet had been.” Evidence suggests the driver in this case was pulling across the road into a parking space when the collision took place. The Crown Prosecution Service wants to charge her with causing death by careless driving. But it wasn’t until nearly a year later in 2019 – when the Harry Dunn case had hit the headlines – that the family realised the Turkish driver was not going to return to the UK. “The police were in touch with her husband and over time it became apparent he wasn’t expecting her back,” says Naomi. The police have had no contact with the driver’s husband for more than a year – so Naomi and her family believe it is now possible he is no longer in the country either. Vicky’s sister Louisa contacted Harry Dunn’s mother Charlotte – and since then the two families have exchanged messages of support as they campaign for justice for their lost loved ones. The CPS is taking steps to get Turkish authorities to hand the driver over – and the family hope to highlight Vicky’s case to MPs. An online petition calling for justice for Vicky has been signed by more than 77,000 people. And on Valentine’s Day, a new campaign asks supporters to send a heart containing the message #fight4ourforgottenhero to No 10 to bring the case to the Prime Minister’s attention. “I didn’t expect to be fighting this long for justice,” says Naomi. Louisa, Vicky’s sister, is also campaigning for a change in the law that would mean passports are taken from people involved in a serious traffic accident while it is being investigated. “I have just had my third Christmas without Vicky and it doesn’t get any easier,” says Naomi. “At least in previous years I could seek comfort and support from family and friends, but Covid has made that even harder. “Vicky loved Christmas. She worked most of them in the time we were together, so the memories of the ones we spent together become even more precious. I put the Christmas tree and a few decorations up this year, but it’s not the same. “My overriding hope for 2021 is justice for Vicky. We all want closure, but most of all, we all want justice,” says Naomi. “How can someone take a life and not be held accountable? “Vicky had wanted to be a paramedic from a young age and helped save countless lives in her career. She was a real NHS hero. “The police along with the CPS have done their part. I now ask the Turkish authorities to do theirs and hand the driver over. “I’m prepared to fight to get this woman brought to justice. It’s the very least my beautiful wife deserves.” District Crown Prosecutor Natalie Carter for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “We have met with Vicky Lovelace-Collins’ family and updated them on what we and the police have been doing to secure justice in this case. “There are challenges because the suspect is currently living abroad, but we have assured Vicky’s family that we will continue to do everything we can so that the driver faces the charge we have authorised of causing death by careless driving.”
‘‘ We all want closure.How can someone take a life and not be held accountable?