Bangor ambulance driver jailed after crash led to patient’s death
Emrys Roberts, 61, of Llys Adda, was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment at Caernarfon Crown Court today (June 9).
He was transporting Janet Winspear, 76, originally form Surrey but living in Tywyn, to Dolgellau and Barmouth District Hospital on April 8, 2021 when the ambulance was involved in a crash on the A470.
Prosecuting, James Coutts told the court that, on the day in question, Roberts was accompanied by his colleague, Cai Roberts, in transferring Mrs Winspear to hospital via a non-emergency ambulance.
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They had collected Mrs Winspear from Ysbyty Eryri, Caernarfon, where she was recovering from a stroke, transferring her from her on to a stretcher, before securing her in the rear of ambulance.
But, Mr Coutts said, she was not strapped in via a harness in the way that the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust requires its employees to do.
The ambulance left Caernarfon soon after midday, with Roberts driving it, and Cai Roberts positioned in the rear of the vehicle with Mrs Winspear.
Coming north along the A470 out of Dolgellau was an IVECO van travelling in the opposite direction, driven by Dean Davies.
Mr Davies recalled the ambulance appeared to be straddling the central white lines of the road, and that Roberts’ eyes appeared “wide open”, with a “vacant” look on his face.
The ambulance then came across to the other lane and, without appearing to brake, hit the van in the northbound lane at 12.57pm, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision.
Such was the force of the crash that the IVECO van was propelled back by at least 12 metres, and rotated by 45 degrees.
A police expert said there appeared to have been nothing Mr Davies could have done to avoid the crash, and no obvious explanation for why the ambulance was in the opposite carriageway.
Due to the impact of the crash, Mrs Winspear came free of her secure straps, and suffered traumatic injuries; she died enroute to Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor in another ambulance.
Roberts told police when officers arrived at the scene: “I honestly don’t know what happened… I was driving along one minute, and the next minute, I’d woken up having had a collision.”
Both his colleague and Mr Davies suffered a fractured a sternum, among other injuries, from the crash.
A full examination of both vehicles found no pre-existing defects to either which could have accounted for the crash.
The post-mortem examination following Mrs Winspear’s death concluded that she died primarily of internal bleeding as a result of the severe chest injuries she had sustained.
Michael Winspear, a son of the deceased, read a victim statement in person in court today regarding his mother’s “tragic loss”.
His father died in Jun 2022, having spent the last 14 months prior to his death “grieving for the loss of his wife”.
Mr Winspear said: “The loss of our mum hit all members of our family with great shock that still exists to this day, and has left us all with questions still to be answered.”
He and his mother had spoken just two days before her death, Mr Winspear added.
The more details he was told about the circumstances by his brother, he said, the more he expected him to tell him: “No, only joking.”
“Sadly,” Mr Winspear said, “that punchline did not come. It was all too true. My mother had died and in such a cruel way.
“Passing the tragic news onto my daughters was as hard as receiving it myself. They were all heartbroken.”
Mr Winspear believes his father’s subsequent death can be “significantly attributed” to that of his mother 14 months earlier.
Her death left a “gaping hole” in his father’s life, he said, and put significant additional financial pressure on him.
He added: “When dad passed away, he passed without receiving the justice for the loss of our mum.
“I also have the utmost regret that he and my mum will never get to meet their new grandchild, my son.
“The events of that day that took the life of our much-loved mum will live on forever with all of us. The pain of losing our mum, and now our dad, is as raw now as when she was first taken from us.”
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Another of Mrs Winspear’s sons, Timothy, said he was “close friends” with his mother, with whom he shared “many interests” and had been in “constant contact” for the previous two decades.
He added: “The bond between mum and I was unfathomably deep. The loss of my mum in such horrifying circumstances strikes me so deeply.
“Deep in my soul, I believe my father died of a broken heart as a result of losing her in the way he did.
“My will to fight is nil. My appetite is completely gone. I’m distant at work, and do not engage fully.
“My relationship with my 16 year-old daughter holds strong; she has become a beacon of hope throughout, but I know I’m not being the father she needs right now.
“I’m now scarred for life, by mental anguish that tears me apart.”
Mr Davies, who also suffered whiplash, and bruising to his knee and leg, underwent physiotherapy and suffered depression and weight loss due to the crash.
Cai Roberts, the defendant’s colleague, suffered two weeks’ disturbed sleep, and was signed off work for three months.
He underwent counselling and, like Mr Davies, suffered financial losses as a result of the crash.
Defending Roberts, who had no previous convictions, or endorsements on his full driving licence which he has held since 1979, Richard Edwards said he is “truly and genuinely remorseful”.
Roberts had initially denied the charge of death by careless driving in November 2022, but changed his plea to guilty last month.
Mr Edwards said his client has “maintained throughout” his absence of any recollection of the incident.
It was not, he said, a “prolonged, persistent, deliberate course of bad driving,” nor was Roberts driving at excessive speed, with any medical conditions, or under excessive influence of alcohol or drugs.
A former firefighter and heavy goods vehicle driver, Roberts was said to have had an “unblemished career” with a “good driving record”.
“His working life has been spent helping others,” Mr Edwards said, inviting the court to refrain from imposing immediate custody on Roberts.
Sentencing, Recorder John Philpotts told Roberts that he was responsible for a “seriously careless piece of driving”.
Roberts was also disqualified from driving for 16 months, and will pay a statutory surcharge.
Recorder Philpotts said: “A head-on collision with a vehicle travelling on the wrong side of the road is the stuff of motoring nightmares. This came close to that situation.
“The deceased lady was vulnerable by virtue of not being properly strapped in. You had care for her.
“I accept you are genuinely remorseful, (but) appropriate punishment can only be achieved by you serving that sentence immediately.
“It’s a tragedy; primarily for Mrs Winspear’s family, but also, to a lesser extent, to you and those close to you.”
Following Roberts’ sentencing, Jason Killens, chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “On behalf of everyone at the Welsh Ambulance Service, our thoughts and condolences remain with Mrs Winspear’s family through what has been – and continues to be – a very upsetting time.
“Our job as an ambulance service is to protect life, so this has been devastating beyond measure for all involved.
“Mr Roberts no longer works for the service but was acting in the course of his employment when the accident occurred.
“It’s why we have taken a number of actions since Mrs Winspear’s death to ensure crews and patients remain safe on board our vehicles, including improved safety features, a quality assurance scheme and reviewing our approach to vehicle inspection and training of staff.”
Sergeant Liam Morris, of the Roads Policing Unit, said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are with Mrs Winspear’s family, who have suffered unimaginable devastation.
“Emrys Roberts now has to live with the knowledge that his actions has resulted in the death of a much-loved lady.
“There is no sentence that can ever replace the hole that has been left in their lives.
“But we hope that others will reflect on this case and recognise that what they do behind the wheel can have tragic consequences.”
References
- ^ Inside (and outside) the Anglesey restaurant and bar with a new look! (www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk)
- ^ PICTURES: Red Arrows make return to Anglesey’s RAF Valley base! (www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk)
- ^ Josie’s rapid rise to the top of the food chain with Gwynedd company (www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk)