The mother of a police officer left brain damaged when a colleague jumped a red light at 75mph said today: “I don’t bear him a grudge.”
Wendy Clarke’s special constable son Reece suffered horrific injuries while in the passenger seat of a marked police car driven by Pc Ian Thompson when it ploughed into a taxi and flipped over.
Yesterday Thompson admitted careless driving and was fined £250. However, Mrs Clarke, 49, said the fine was “the right sentence”, adding: “He was only doing his job. I do not blame him.”
Mr Clarke suffered a fractured skull and went into a coma while the driver of the taxi also suffered serious injuries. Ipswich crown court heard how Thompson had been responding to an emergency alarm at the custody suite at Basildon police station.
He is believed to have been travelling at about 75mph when he jumped the red light in Broadmayne in Basildon, and collided with the taxi.
Mr Clarke suffered life-changing brain damage and is now cared for at a specialist ward at Northwick Park Hospital. His mother said her son, who was 19 at the time, would be coming home soon following the accident in July last year. Mrs Clarke, of Southend, said: “He has improved but is still in a wheelchair. He can now communicate through a computer.”
Judge David Goodin told the court Mrs Clarke had acted with “generosity” in not pursuing a more serious charge. The taxi driver, 31, is recovering after sustaining a broken leg and pelvis in the crash.
The crash was investigated by the Independent Police Complaint Commission and Thompson is expected to face disciplinary proceedings.
