-
31/03/2020 Former traffic officer calls for Highways England to
be prosecuted after court hears smart motorways may have led to
deaths
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/28/former-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court/
1/7
See all News
Former traffic officer calls for Highways England to be
prosecutedafter court hears smart motorways may have led to
deaths
A retired police officer has written to Essex Police urging them
to prosecute HighwaysEngland over two deaths
By Steve Bird
28 March 2020 • 6:20pm
Premium
Police are being urged to prosecute Highways England for
corporate manslaughter after a
judge said two smart motorway deaths could have been prevented
if there had been a
hard shoulder.
Coronavirus News Politics Sport Business Money Opinion Tech Life
Style Travel
My Feed
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/all-sections#newshttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/steve-bird/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F03%2F28%2Fformer-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court%2F&text=Former+traffic+officer+calls+for+Highways+England+to+be+prosecuted+after+court+hears+smart+motorways+may+have+led+to+deaths%C2%A0https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F03%2F28%2Fformer-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court%2Fhttps://wa.me/?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F03%2F28%2Fformer-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court%2Fmailto:?to=&subject=Former+traffic+officer+calls+for+Highways+England+to+be+prosecuted+after+court+hears+smart+motorways+may+have+led+to+deaths%C2%A0&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F03%2F28%2Fformer-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court%2Fhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/coronavirus/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/style/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/mytelegraph/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/all-sections/
-
31/03/2020 Former traffic officer calls for Highways England to
be prosecuted after court hears smart motorways may have led to
deaths
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/28/former-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court/
2/7
Sevim Üstün, 49, and Ayse Üstün, 68, were killed when a lorry
hit the car they had been in
after it broke down and became stranded on the M25 in Essex.
Murat Üstün, was driving
his Audi 3 with his mother, grandmother and sister in the car,
when a puncture caused
him to pull over in a live lane because he could not reach an
emergency refuge area.
Overhead gantry signs run by Highways England did not close the
lane or warn of a
broken-down vehicle.
A court heard that Krzysztof Zarebski, 35, had a “momentary
lapse in concentration”
before his lorry hit the Audi then the safety barrier behind
which the family had been
sheltering.
The two women were killed and Mr Üstün’s 10-year-old sister
suffered life-changing
injuries. Mr Üstün survived.
Sentencing the Polish lorry driver to just four months,
suspended for a year, for causing
death by careless driving, Judge Gratwicke said: “I accept that
if there had been a hard
shoulder or a refuge into which Mr Üstün could have steered,
that collision would not
have occurred.
“However it is not for this court to make any judgments or
observations on the wisdom of
smart motorways or the strength of safety barriers.” Now
Mike Rawson, a retired
Metropolitan Police traffic officer who served in the force for
35 years, has written to Ben-
Julian Harrington, the chief constable of Essex Police, urging
him to prosecute Highways
England over its “callous disregard” for human life.
-
31/03/2020 Former traffic officer calls for Highways England to
be prosecuted after court hears smart motorways may have led to
deaths
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/28/former-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court/
3/7
The Audi A3 suffered a puncture but the driver could not reach
an emergency refuge area CREDIT: Highways Agency
In his letter seen by the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Rawson asked:
“Would you consider, given
the absence of an emergency hard shoulder being the primary
cause of this tragic
accident, recommending the Crown Prosecution Service consider
prosecuting Highways
England for corporate manslaughter?”
He added: “One person has died on a smart motorway every six
weeks during the last five
years, and it is time to end the policy and return emergency
hard shoulders to ensure as
safe an environment as is possible for those lawfully using
motorways.
“This will only be achieved following successful prosecutions of
Highways England.”
A spokeswoman for Essex Police said: “We have received a letter
and will review the
contents and get back to the author.”
Chelmsford Crown Court heard last month how Zarebski, from
Coventry, had just four
seconds to react after seeing the car which had its hazard
lights illuminated while tucked
into the inside lane near Waltham Abbey.
After the crash, Zarebski, who lost his driving job, was heard
to say: “It’s my fault, but no
hard shoulder.”
Benjamin Waidhofer, representing Zarebski, underlined the
controversy surrounding
smart motorways and argued that there could have been just one
second for him to avoid
the impact.
He said: “If there had been proper provision for refuge areas,
the accident wouldn’t have
happened.” He also said the overhead gantry sign directed
motorists to the A1 rather than
warned of a broken down vehicle
Mr Üstün's younger sister suffered damage to her spleen, as well
as breaks to her shoulder
and right scapula in the crash in 2018. Now aged 12, it
has emerged her left hip had
stopped growing, leaving her hips uneven.
-
31/03/2020 Former traffic officer calls for Highways England to
be prosecuted after court hears smart motorways may have led to
deaths
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/28/former-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court/
4/7
She was immobile for six weeks due to the surgery needed for her
pelvic and hip fracture.
She has required physiotherapy, speech therapy and leg therapy.
Mr Rawson, from Cheshunt in Hertfordshire and who attended the
court hearing, said:
“Highways England has shown a callous disregard for the safety
of people using these
smart motorways.
“They have placed too much reliance on technology because they
have assumed
technology will provide safety on its own. It doesn’t.”
Highways England was unavailable for comment.
Front Page NewsletterOur essential summary of the most important
news, analysis, opinion and lifestyle - a.m and
p.m
More stories
Sign up
Related Topics
Department for Transport, Motorways, Roads, Essex
Premium
For the BBC, the virus truce has already ended
Coronavirus latest news: 13-year-old dies after testing positive
for coronavirus asUK death toll hits 1,789
Premium
Will the coronavirus crisis tear the European Union apart?
Premium
Coronavirus: the four ways we could get out of lockdown
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/department-for-transport/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motorways/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/roads/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/essex/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F03%2F28%2Fformer-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court%2F&text=Former+traffic+officer+calls+for+Highways+England+to+be+prosecuted+after+court+hears+smart+motorways+may+have+led+to+deaths%C2%A0https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F03%2F28%2Fformer-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court%2Fhttps://wa.me/?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F03%2F28%2Fformer-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court%2Fmailto:?to=&subject=Former+traffic+officer+calls+for+Highways+England+to+be+prosecuted+after+court+hears+smart+motorways+may+have+led+to+deaths%C2%A0&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2020%2F03%2F28%2Fformer-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court%2Fhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/31/bbc-virus-truce-has-already-ended/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhrhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-covid-19-news-updates-cases-deaths-flights-latest/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhrhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/03/31/will-coronavirus-crisis-tear-european-union-apart/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhrhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/31/coronavirus-four-ways-could-get-lockdown/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhr
-
31/03/2020 Former traffic officer calls for Highways England to
be prosecuted after court hears smart motorways may have led to
deaths
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/28/former-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court/
5/7
More from News
Live Coronavirus latest news: 13-year-old dies aftertesting
positive for coronavirus as UK death toll hits 1,789
31 Mar 2020, 10:21pm
Britain in coronavirus lockdown, in pictures
31 Mar 2020, 9:56pm
Premium
All 101 calls to police be free as 15p charges are scrappedafter
Telegraph campaign
31 Mar 2020, 9:55pm
Premium
Boy, 13, believed to be youngest person to die fromcoronavirus
in UK
31 Mar 2020, 9:30pm
Premium
Public Health England ignored offers of coronavirus testinghelp
as anger mounts at Government's failure to ramp upcapacity
31 Mar 2020, 9:30pm
Premium
When did we become a country so happy to surrender
itsliberties?
By Lizzie Roberts
By Charles Hymas
By Laura Donnelly
By Bill Gardner
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-covid-19-news-updates-cases-deaths-flights-latest/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/coronavirus-britain-lockdown-pictures/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/03/31/101-calls-police-free-15p-charges-scrapped-telegraph-campaign/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/31/teenager-youngest-person-no-underlying-health-conditions-die/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/31/public-health-england-ignored-offers-testing-help-amid-mounting/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/31/did-become-country-happy-surrender-liberties/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/lizzie-roberts/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/charles-hymas/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/laura-donnelly/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/bill-gardner/
-
31/03/2020 Former traffic officer calls for Highways England to
be prosecuted after court hears smart motorways may have led to
deaths
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/28/former-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court/
6/7
More from The Telegraph
31 Mar 2020, 9:30pm
Coronavirus: UK lockdown measures are 'making adifference' but
worst is yet to come, Sir Patrick Vallance says
Premium
Police powers: Shopping bags searched and ban on fishing asscope
of new laws emerges
Premium
Politics latest news: NHS to receive at least 1,000
UK-madeventilators next week
Premium
Only one in 100 deaths in England and Wales linked tocoronavirus
as outbreak took hold, figures reveal
Premium
How many coronavirus cases are in the UK - and where
arethey?
Tuesday morning news briefing: Police given lockdownwarning
PHILIP JOHNSTON
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-news-covid-19-latest-cases-uk-lockdown-nhs-deaths/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-onward-journeyhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/30/police-powers-shopping-bags-searched-ban-fishing-scope-new-laws/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-onward-journeyhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/03/31/lockdown-police-coronavirus-uk-government-update-nhs/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-onward-journeyhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/31/one-100-deaths-england-wales-linked-coronavirus-outbreak-took/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-onward-journeyhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/31/coronavirus-uk-britain-covid-19-how-many-cases/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-onward-journeyhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/31/tuesday-morning-news-briefing-police-given-lockdown-warning/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-onward-journeyhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/philip-johnston/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/philip-johnston/
-
31/03/2020 Former traffic officer calls for Highways England to
be prosecuted after court hears smart motorways may have led to
deaths
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/28/former-traffic-officer-calls-highways-england-prosecuted-court/
7/7
Contact us
About us
Rewards
Archive
Reader Prints
Branded Content
Syndication and Commissioning
Guidelines
Privacy
Terms and Conditions
Advertising terms
Fantasy Sport
UK Voucher Codes
Betting Offers
Modern Slavery
Manage Cookies
© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2020
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/contact-us/https://corporate.telegraph.co.uk/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rewards/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/archive/http://telegraph.newsprints.co.uk/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/branded-content/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/syndication/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/about-us/editorial-and-commercial-guidelines/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/about-us/privacy-and-cookie-policy/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/about-us/terms-and-conditions/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/about-us/advertising-terms-and-conditions/https://fantasyfootball.telegraph.co.uk/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/vouchercodeshttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/betting/free-bets/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/about-us/modern-slavery-statement/