Louis Thorold: Pram death baby 'victim of a system that failed'

Louis Thorold pictured with his mother Rachael just hours before the crash in January 2021

The father of a baby who died in a crash while being pushed in a pram said his son was a victim of an "incident caused by a system that failed them".

Five-month-old Louis Thorold was hit on the pavement of the A10 near Cambridge, on 22 January 2021. His mother Rachael was seriously injured.

Last week the driver, who argued she had undiagnosed dementia at the time, was cleared by reason of insanity.

Louis' family now want independent medical checks for older drivers.

Cambridge Crown Court had heard Shelagh Robertson, 75, of Stables Yard in Waterbeach, was driving home from the supermarket when she turned into the path of an oncoming van, forcing it on to the pavement where it hit the mum and baby.

Louis was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital, while Mrs Thorold spent 10 days in a coma and 118 days in hospital, with her husband Chris describing her survival as "miraculous".

A jury found Mrs Robertson not guilty of causing death by careless driving by reason of insanity.

Shelagh Robertson's defence team said she had undiagnosed Alzheimer's disease at the time of the crash

Following his death, the baby's family set up the Louis Thorold Foundation, which aims to prevent infant pedestrian deaths.

Mr Thorold said: "If there's anything positive to come out of this I actually think the verdict itself may well be a sort of vessel for change, because there are a number of issues it raises."

Currently, drivers are required to renew their entitlement to a licence at the age of 70, and then repeat the process at least every three years, declaring any medical conditions which may affect their ability to drive.

Rachael and Chris Thorold are campaigning for "Louis' law"

Mr Thorold said: "The onus is all on the individual and I think what we want to see really is a change so that someone independently verifies your medical ability.

"This is commonplace among most developed countries."

Mrs Thorold said last week's trial was "really, really hard, but overall I do feel a little bit more like I can look forward".

"I also feel I also gained a perspective that I wasn't at fault. I feel like it was the confirmation it wasn't my fault," she said.

"Because I needed to know there was nothing I could do because I was always thinking 'why didn't I move Louis? Why couldn't I move his pram quick enough?'.

"But from the trial I could see I had no chance."

Louis Thorold was born at the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge in August 2020

Mr Thorold added: "It was tough, seeing the dashcam and bodycam footage and seeing photographs of Louis' little lion toy that was just sat at the side of the road, and Rachael's sunglasses and scarf discarded as sort of evidence, it's hard.

"But having that now and having a bit more of an understanding of what happened - that Rachael and Louis were victims of an incident caused by a system that failed them - it seems to be helpful."

The Department for Transport has said there are no plans to introduce re-testing or further medical tests for older drivers as it said there was little evidence to suggest that introducing a stricter regime to include mandatory testing or medical examinations would improve road safety.