Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Duke victim: Would everyone have avoided crash charges?
THE woman who broke her wrist when Prince Philip pulled out in front of the car she was in cannot believe he has escaped prosecution.
Emma Fairweather, 46, said: “I don’t know if everyone would have been treated that way.”
The mum-of-two, who needed a metal plate in her arm, added: “It’s not a shock, really.
“I think he surrendered his licence last weekend to avoid prosecution. He will have been heavily advised. The whole thing feels managed and controlled.”
Philip, 97, could have been charged with driving without due care and attention.
But yesterday prosecutors announced no action will be taken due to his advancing age and his decision to give up his licence.
Emma was in a Kia driven by friend Ellie Townsend, 28, when the accident happened near the Queen’s Sandringham estate, Norfolk, four weeks ago.
Ellie suffered cuts to her knee LOOKS like you’re gonna need a bigger runway to land this whopper.
Hundreds of aviation fans gathered to see the giant Beluga XL Airbus touch down on British soil for the first time yesterday.
Named after the whale, and painted to look like one, the 207ft-long plane landed at Hawarden Airport in Broughton, Flintshire, North Wales, for ground tests.
Whale watchers also lined the streets of Bristol and Chester to catch a glimpse of the aircraft with its 197ft wingspan on its route from the Airbus plant in Toulouse, France.
The plane will be used to transport oversized aircraft components. while her nine-month son escaped unhurt.
The Duke walked uninjured from his overturned Land Rover.
Yesterday police handed Emma a letter explaining the decision not to press charges.
Senior prosecutor Joseph Stickings wrote that he had “considered her views about a prosecution”. But Emma said: “I don’t recall saying I didn’t want there to be a prosecution. I feel it’s putting some of the responsibility on me. It’s baffling.” The Crown Prosecution Service said: “We decided it would not be in the public interest to prosecute.”
But David Brown, 41, of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, prosecuted for an almost identical accident, said: “I got six points and a £300 fine. It’s one law for them and another for the rest.”