Coroner's concern over fatal Army Land Rover crash

Suffolk coroner Dr Daniel Sharpstone has written to the secretary of state for defence, raising concerns after the fatal crash

A coroner has raised concerns about a Ministry of Defence (MoD) vehicle information system after a faulty Army car led to a fatal crash.

Catherine Moore, 73, from Hertfordshire, died after an Army Land Rover with a defective steering system crashed into a lorry.

The vehicle overturned and crashed into Mrs Moore's Porsche on the A11 near Icklingham, Suffolk, in June 2022.

Suffolk coroner Daniel Sharpstone has written to the secretary of state for defence detailing concerns with the MoD's systems used to monitor, repair and maintain its vehicles.

A MoD spokesperson said it acknowledged and accepted the coroner's findings and would look to action any recommendations.

During an inquest earlier this month, Dr Sharpstone concluded the primary cause of the crash was the Land Rover's "chronically" damaged steering, which "contributed more than minimally" to the crash.

Mrs Moore's children said afterwards they were "extremely disappointed" by the MoD and believed that had the vehicle been "in a good state of repair, our mother would still be with us today".

In a recent Prevention of Future Deaths report, Dr Sharpstone said he had concerns with the Joint Asset Management and Engineering Solutions (JAMES), a system which holds information about MoD vehicles and the work carried out on them.

The coroner stated the terminology and descriptors used on the system's forms were "very difficult to understand, and it was unclear how data could be extracted for governance purposes".

He believed the system lacked information on who records issues, meaning follow-up checks were then difficult to do, and there were limited details included on what work had been done on vehicles.

The crash occurred on the A11 when an Army Land Rover collided with a lorry, which then struck Mrs Moore's car

Other issues raised by the coroner in regards to the system included "repetition of identical time and dates attached to different tasks" and "no formal searchable database".

The coroner also said that there was "no process with regards to inspection, checking, audit, feedback and testing of MoD vehicle maintenance and repairs" and there was "no formal process for real-time feedback".

"In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken," Dr Sharpstone said in his report.

The MoD spokesperson said Mrs Moore's death "was a tragedy" and offered their sympathies to her family.

It has 56 days to respond to the report, after which it will set out its actions to implement the coroner's recommendations.