Katelyn Dawson: Driver 'more likely than not' fainted - inquest

Katelyn Dawson was waiting for a school bus on the morning of the crash

A coroner has ruled that a driver "more likely than not" fainted at the wheel before crashing into a bus stop and killing a 15-year-old girl.

Katelyn Dawson was struck as she waited for a school bus on Wakefield Road, Huddersfield, on 10 January 2018.

The driver, Richard Brooke, 57, was never prosecuted because he is believed to have suffered a medical episode.

Senior Coroner Martin Fleming recorded a narrative verdict following Katelyn's inquest at Bradford Coroner's Court.

At the conclusion of the two-week hearing on Thursday, he told the court that it was "more likely than not that the driver suffered a temporary loss of consciousness due to fainting at the wheel as a result of a medical condition".

In a statement, Katelyn's family said West Yorkshire Police "had failed Katelyn" in investigating her death "and that is something that will haunt us for the rest of our lives".

Mr Brooke previously told the inquest he had been taking prescribed antibiotics for a cold, sweats and a wheezy chest in the two days leading up to the incident, but had not been told to avoid driving and felt "in control" that morning.

He claimed his symptoms deteriorated rapidly on his journey home from dropping his son at school, leaving him feeling a sensation of "falling forwards" and fearing "something didn't feel right".

There was no evidence to suggest he was driving erratically prior to his symptoms worsening as he drove along Wakefield Road, Mr Fleming said.

'Beautiful young lady'

Mr Fleming described Katelyn, who attended Shelley College in Huddersfield, as a "much-loved daughter, sister and granddaughter who had so much to live for".

She was a "beautiful young lady with warmth and compassion," he added.

"It's clear that the circumstances of how she passed away has been devastatingly hard for you to comprehend and impossible to reconcile for all these understandable reasons," he told her family members in attendance at the hearing.

"The family will never get over it, not one day goes by without the family realising she is no longer with them."

'Appalling' investigation

Dr Faisal Ali, a pathologist who conducted Katelyn's inquest, had earlier told the court the teenager died after sustaining "multiple fatal injuries consistent with the trauma of the collision", Mr Fleming said.

The court heard she had been trapped between the black BMW Mr Brooke was driving, a lamp post and a wall following the crash.

Another person suffered "life-changing" injuries in the incident, Mr Fleming said, while a third person had been left "traumatised" by the event.

Katelyn's family said they could not "understand or accept the appalling way in which Katelyn's death has been investigated by West Yorkshire Police.

Their statement added: "After two investigations, there was still crucial evidence detailed at the inquest that the police had not looked into properly".

In response, West Yorkshire Police said officers from their Major Collision Enquiry Team investigated the death "over the course of a number of months", with the investigation then reviewed at at the family's request.

The evidence was then submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to decide whether to pursue criminal proceedings, a spokesperson added.

"After a review of all evidence, a decision was made by the CPS not to bring any criminal charges in the matter and following this decision, all evidence from the investigation was then shared with the Coroner's Office to be considered during the course of the inquest."