No justice for family of Chippenham school pupil (From Wiltshire Times)

No justice for family of Chippenham school pupil

7:35am Thursday 30th April 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(1)

The heartbroken family of Hardenhuish sixth former Daniel England have said they will never fully have closure after the driver of the bus that killed their son died before being sentenced for his part in the crash.

An inquest into the 18-year-old’s death,which happened last June, was held in Trowbridge yesterday almost four months after bus driver Steven Whittaker, 56, of Southmead, Chippenham, died of natural causes in a bail hostel.

He was facing seven charges, which included driving while disqualified, fraud, no insurance and careless driving.

His mum Chris said in a comment on a Facebook group dedicated to her son: spoke : “As yet our emotions have not quite registered quite how we feel.

“On the one hand there is a relief that none of us has to go through the ordeal of a court case but on the other, it makes you feel that justice has not been done.

“We are confused by how we are feeling. We were hoping for some sort of closure at this point but now feel that the door is still slightly ajar if that makes sense.

“We cannot feel sorry for the loss of this man’s life.

“We know we are told to show forgiveness but this man has never shown any remorse for what he has done.

Daniel died after the Ford Fusion he was driving into school with his younger sister Meg, 14, was hit by the 33-seat Faresaver bus being driven by Mr Whittaker on the A420 close to his family home in Marshfield, near Chippenham.

The inquest was told Mr Whittaker had tried to slow the bus down by shifting gears after seeing another car 100 yards along the road had stopped and was indicating to turn. The bus had slid out into the opposite carriageway and struck Daniel’s car.

During the inquest, Coroner David Ridley recorded a narrative verdict after saying that a conclusion of accidental death was not appropriate.

In a statement read to the court, Daniel’s dad Chris said: “He had got up as usual and had done his paper round. He was a very happy, positive boy with a lovely laid back attitude to life.”

David James, a Faresaver inspector and trainer, had been on the bus with Mr Whittaker, making sure he knew the correct route from Yatton Keynell to Bath.

Giving evidence about the crash he said: “The bus started to slide on the road and into the other carriageway. It happened so fast there was nothing Daniel could have done.

“As an inspector there was nothing I could do.”

A police inquiry after the crash revealed that Whittaker had been disqualified from driving any vehicle by Manchester City Magistrates in April 2008.

He had used a duplicate licence to get the job with Faresaver in Chippenham.

Faresaver Transport manager for Chippenham David Beard said: “When I was told by the police I was completely and utterly taken aback.”

Since the crash, Mr Beard uses a hotline to the DVLA before employing any drivers and finds out any previous motor offences.

Senior collision officer Sgt Steve Cox said: “The cause of the collision was driver error on the part of the bus driver. The road was wet causing him to slide and causing the collision.”

Mr Ridley said that Daniel had died as a result of multiple fractures to the base of his skull.