Sad Stupidity

December 27, 2007 General News, Transport 4

The tragic case of the seven year old girl killed in a collision is drawn to my attention by Haddock. The Telegraph carries the story as well.

A seven-year-old girl has died in a head-on crash as she drove along a country road on a quad bike she had been given for Christmas.

Elizabeth Cooke and her 10-year-old brother Jack were following their father’s car in the dark along an unlit lane in the village of Blackmore, Essex, last night.

The little blonde girl was killed in a collision with a Range Rover travelling in the opposite direction at 7pm.

So, quite apart from any feelings I might have about the suitability of buying motor vehicles as presents for minors, we have an illegal vehicle being driven on a public highway without insurance. Bad enough, but at the controls is an unqualified, under-age driver. I’m sorry, but what part of this scenario is not rampant stupidity?

“It’s such a tragedy, it’s absolutely awful especially at Christmas time. I don’t know how they will cope.”

Yes, well, without wishing to sound harsh or anything, it’s because they bought entirely unsuitable presents for their children and then allowed them to drive illegally on the roads that this tragedy happened at this time of the year. There is no one to blame here but the parents. And as for the family friend who admits to being in the car, did you not say something to the childrens’ father? You went along with this dangerous stupidity and said, nor did nothing to try and prevent it? Then you are as guilty as he is and should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.

I was watching them, keeping an eye on them.

Really isn’t good enough, is it? Given that you were colluding with allowing under-aged, unqualified, illegal and uninsured drivers to use the public highway.

An Essex Police spokesperson said that a 28-year-old woman driving the Range Rover was arrested and bailed until New Year’s Eve. It is understood police are treating it as a tragic accident.

I don’t know enough about the circumstances to comment on whether this driver was in any way to blame, but she had, presumably already passed the childrens’ parents’ vehicle, so would have slowed sufficiently for that. What happened then we can only surmise until the police complete their investigations, but if she was arrested, why was the driver of the parents’ car not arrested as well?

 

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4 Comments

  2. As Docbud has said in comments to my post;
    The rather unpleasant, nagging thought that my cynical mind has, is that the reason why the women in the Landrover was told “Don’t worry, she’s not badly hurt” was that the father knew full well he’d be in trouble if the police were called. The obvious question is, would Elizabeth have survived if she’d been taken straight to hospital?
    Docbud often out-cynics me and has a perfectly valid point here. The most likely injuries would be internal as the stomach hits the handlebars. A sensible person would probably guess that driving into the front of a moving vehicle is likely to result in injury.
    My guess is that father brakes, child not expecting it, swerves out to miss back of vehicle… and collects front of other vehicle.
    father feels guilty on at least two counts of stupidity.

  4. Haddock, that seems a reasonable supposition. Now factor in the lack of a differential gearbox, and you have something that is inherently unstable on a surface with a high friction quotient. Likely as not, she completely lost control, poor little mite.

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