Crash left police driver 'broken man'
Thursday, 7th March 2002.
A POLICE driver based in Haverhill who was responsible for a 100mph crash which caused the death of another officer has been fined £500 and had his licence endorsed with six penalty points.
Pc Wayne Naylor, 39, of Kedington, said he feared a prison sentence following the crash on the A14 at Great Saxham, Suffolk, in February last year which left his friend and colleague, Pc Peter Evans, 33, dead.
But following a hearing at Norwich Crown Court, at which Naylor pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention, Judge Paul Downes said he regarded the crash as an isolated misjudgment by Naylor which did not merit a driving ban.
The court heard Naylor and Pc Evans were heading back to their Bury St Edmunds base as their shift neared its end at around 2.30am on Saturday February 24, 2001.
Naylor was driving a marked police armed response vehicle which left the road after hitting a sudden snow storm while travelling at speeds of around 100mph.
The car overturned and slid into a lay-by on its roof before hitting a telegraph pole. Pc Evans, who was unmarried, was declared dead at the scene and Naylor, who is married with a family, suffered serious injuries which resulted in him being off work for two months.
Naylor was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving but the Crown Prosecution Service accepted his plea to the lesser charge after reviewing the evidence against him.
Anthony Glass QC, representing Naylor, told the court: "Not a day has gone by since February when Mr Naylor has not deeply regretted responsibility for the accident in which his friend and colleague died. He was extremely emotional and distressed and blaming himself for the collision and wanted the death to be his rather than Peter's.''
He said Naylor's explanation about the pursuit of a speeding car remained the same since he was first questioned.
Friends and colleagues said the tragedy left Naylor "a broken man . . . feeling guilty for being alive''.
Mr Glass said Naylor was regarded by senior officers as a high-quality policeman whose life was his family and work. He added Naylor had been faced with the prospect of a prison sentence and had become withdrawn and subdued.
Since recovering from his injuries Naylor carried out light administrative duties at Haverhill police station.
Mr Glass said Naylor was now driving his own car again but had no wish to drive a police armed response vehicle in the future.
Judge Downes stressed he accepted the CPS decision to accept Naylor's guilty plea to driving without due care and attention.
Pc Wayne Naylor, 39, of Kedington, said he feared a prison sentence following the crash on the A14 at Great Saxham, Suffolk, in February last year which left his friend and colleague, Pc Peter Evans, 33, dead.
But following a hearing at Norwich Crown Court, at which Naylor pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention, Judge Paul Downes said he regarded the crash as an isolated misjudgment by Naylor which did not merit a driving ban.
The court heard Naylor and Pc Evans were heading back to their Bury St Edmunds base as their shift neared its end at around 2.30am on Saturday February 24, 2001.
Naylor was driving a marked police armed response vehicle which left the road after hitting a sudden snow storm while travelling at speeds of around 100mph.
The car overturned and slid into a lay-by on its roof before hitting a telegraph pole. Pc Evans, who was unmarried, was declared dead at the scene and Naylor, who is married with a family, suffered serious injuries which resulted in him being off work for two months.
Naylor was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving but the Crown Prosecution Service accepted his plea to the lesser charge after reviewing the evidence against him.
Anthony Glass QC, representing Naylor, told the court: "Not a day has gone by since February when Mr Naylor has not deeply regretted responsibility for the accident in which his friend and colleague died. He was extremely emotional and distressed and blaming himself for the collision and wanted the death to be his rather than Peter's.''
He said Naylor's explanation about the pursuit of a speeding car remained the same since he was first questioned.
Friends and colleagues said the tragedy left Naylor "a broken man . . . feeling guilty for being alive''.
Mr Glass said Naylor was regarded by senior officers as a high-quality policeman whose life was his family and work. He added Naylor had been faced with the prospect of a prison sentence and had become withdrawn and subdued.
Since recovering from his injuries Naylor carried out light administrative duties at Haverhill police station.
Mr Glass said Naylor was now driving his own car again but had no wish to drive a police armed response vehicle in the future.
Judge Downes stressed he accepted the CPS decision to accept Naylor's guilty plea to driving without due care and attention.
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