Police officer who caused fatal crash given suspended sentence

The crown had told Worcester Crown Court Holloway's driving "fell far below the standard of that of a reasonable and competent driver"

A police officer who caused a fatal crash while responding to an emergency call has been given an eight-month suspended jail sentence.

Worcester Crown Court previously heard Jamie Holloway, 50, was driving at speeds of up to 110mph when the collision happened on 28 May 2018.

He was convicted of causing death by careless driving.

The family of his victim, David Shaw, called the events of three years ago "horrific and unnecessary".

Holloway, who resigned from West Mercia Police following the crash, was an advanced driver and the court was told he was responding to a request for back-up from other officers.

Mr Shaw, 53, had been in a queue of traffic near the village of Acton in Worcestershire and was signalling and moving right when he was struck by Holloway's unmarked BMW.

Holloway's vehicle had been travelling with blue lights and sirens and had attempted to brake, but at the point of impact, was doing a speed of 75mph.

The crash caused Mr Shaw's vehicle to flip over twice and land on its roof. He died in hospital 13 days later.

David Shaw's family said they wanted the police to take action to prevent similar collisions in the future

Holloway's eight-month sentence was suspended for two years and he was ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work, and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

During sentencing, Judge Nicolas Cartwright acknowledged that officers responding to emergencies were entitled to break the speed limit.

"What you were not permitted to do was to drive without due care and attention or due consideration for other road users," he said.

"Nobody in Mr Shaw's position would have expected a car to overtake. You should have been thinking of that when you drove over that [hatched] area."

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In a statement following the sentencing, Mr Shaw's family said on the day he was hurt, the 53-year-old had gone out to a petrol station to fill up the car for a family trip.

'Loving husband'

They said they had waited "three long years to understand the full details of the case and for justice to be served".

A statement by family members described Mr Shaw as a "loving husband who was devoted to his family", and added: "David's loss of life needs to make a difference."

They said they hoped all police forces would learn from his death and that "actions will be taken to avoid this type of horrific and unnecessary incident happening in the future".

Deputy Chief Constable Julian Moss said: "I hope today's sentencing can offer Mr Shaw's family and friends some form of closure and our thoughts remain with them at what continues to be an extremely difficult time.

"I can assure Mr Shaw's family and communities across West Mercia Police that we take incidents such as these incredibly seriously and are committed to taking any learning from this case and embedding it within our organisation."

Holloway was charged following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

West Mercia Police said it would now carry out an internal misconduct review.