Tragedy as boy dies after horrific bus collision leading to road closure in HUDDERSFIELD
Medical experts have given evidence at the inquest into death of Katelyn Dawson,oct 23, in 2024
A driver may have inadvertently accelerated due to the effects of falling ill and fainting a few moments before his BMW struck and killed Huddersfield schoolgirl Katelyn Dawson, an inquest heard.
Driver Richard Brooke said he felt sick and warm and with ‘tunnel vision’ shortly shortly before a collision which he said he had no memory of. The crash in Moldgreen, Huddersfield, in January 2018 led to the death of Katelyn, 15, and injured two others. Mr Brooke, of Fenay Bridge, Huddersfield, said he had been planning to pull over due to feeling increasingly unwell, having dropped his son off at school earlier that morning.
An inquest into Katelyn’s death heard today from Dr Christopher Derry who gave evidence about what may have caused Mr Brooke to lose control of the car. Dr Derry, a consultant neurologist with an interest in the diagnosis of blackouts, said Mr Brooke’s account was consistent with him suffering a ‘medical episode’ at the wheel. Dr Derry said the blackout may have caused the driver’s legs to stiffen and put pressure on the accelerator pedal.
He said it was ‘unlikely’ that Mr Brooke had fallen asleep at the wheel as there was no evidence he was sleep deprived and because the collision had happened in the morning when people were usually at their most alert.
Dr Derry was asked for his opinion on whether Mr Brooke might have been ‘distracted’ while driving. He said the incident in question seemed ‘prolonged’ in nature and seemed to have involved the car ‘drifting’ and with no last-minute braking taking place. He said this pointed to “incapacitation rather than distraction” in relation to the driver.
Dr Derry said the evidence supported the driver having a ‘blackout’ caused by a drop in blood pressure. He said blackouts happening to people while sitting were ‘a little unusual’ but ‘not that rare’.
The doctor said a high proportion of fainting episodes led to ‘stiffening and jerking’ which may have led to Mr Brooke’s legs becoming rigid, possibly causing pressure to be maintained on the car’s accelerator pedal.
The inquest, which was attended by Katelyn’s mum and dad, Angela and Colin, heard evidence had been presented that the BMW had accelerated from around 30mph to 34mph which was said to be the speed at the time of impact.
Dr Derry said some people who experienced fainting would have almost no warning before it took place.
The inquest was told that Katelyn was taken to hospital in Leeds where she died while surrounded by her loving family.
Senior coroner Martin Fleming said the pathologist’s report – which concluded Katelyn had died from multiple injuries – completed the evidence.
Mr Fleming said he was considering different possible conclusions in relation to Katelyn’s death: that she died as a result of an accident, or that she died due to a road traffic collision. A third would be a ‘narrative’ conclusion (which usually involves a brief explanation of the facts).
Earlier this week the inquest heard that Mr Brooke had been taking antibiotics for a cold, a wheezy chest and sweats for two days prior to the collision.
Mr Brooke was never charged over the collision after the Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute after medical evidence confirmed he had suffered a fainting episode while at the wheel.
Related
Categories
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Alaska
- Arkansas Razorback
- Atlanta Braves
- Atletico Madrid
- Auburn Tiger
- Base ball
- Base ball
- Bjorn Borg .
- BLOG
- Boston Bruins
- Buffalo Bills
- Caitlin Clark
- Carteret
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cincinnati Reds
- Cleveland Browns
- cycling
- Dallas Mavericks
- Detroit Lions
- Detroit tigers
- Dodgers
- Duke Blue Devils
- East Tennessee
- Emerald Isle
- Florida panthers
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Golden State Warriors
- Green Bay Packer
- Horsforth
- Houston Texans
- HUDDERSFIELD
- Indiana Fever
- Indianapolis Colts
- Inter Miami
- Ipswich town
- Isle of Man TT
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Johnny Depp
- Kamala Harris
- Kansas Chief city
- Kenilworth
- Laliga
- Larry Bird
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Leamington
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Los Angeles dodgers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Los Angeles ram
- LSU Tigers
- Luton
- Maple Leafs
- Miami Dolphins
- Michigan Wolverines
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Minnesota Twins
- MINNESOTA VIKINGS
- Mississipi Bulldogs
- Montreal Canadiens
- MOTOGP
- NBA
- New England Patriots
- New Orleans Saints
- New York Rangers
- Newbury
- Newfoundland
- NFL
- Nottingham forest
- Nuneaton
- onslow county
- other club
- Pete Rose
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Phoenix Suns
- Pittsburgh Steeler
- Robert Redford
- San Antonio Spurs
- Seattle Seahawks
- Sevilla fc
- sha'carri richardson
- SPHL
- stowmarket
- Suffolk
- Swinton
- Tennessee titans
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Texas Longhorns
- Texas Longhorns Baseball
- Texas Rangers
- Tom Brady
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Uncategorized
- Valencia
- Valencia fc
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Walsall
- Washington Commanders
- Wilt Chamberlain
- WNBA
Leave a Reply