Patrick Schaible, 21, was knocked over and killed instantly by an unlicensed, uninsured foreign driver. He studied at Houghall Agricultural College in Durham while working as a barman at Darlington Rugby Club
A grieving mother has been left devastated after being told the driver who killed her son will face no charges.
Patrick Schaible, 21, was knocked over and killed instantly by an unlicensed, uninsured foreign driver.
He was struck by a Renault Clio on the B6279 near Summerhouse, County Durham, as he walked to his home in Headlam from Darlington on October 7 last year.
Despite a police inquiry, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has told his mother Dr Nicola Schaible that the driver has no case to answer on charges of causing death while driving without a licence or insurance.
The CPS said the decision was made in the light of a Supreme Court test case which rules there had to be significant fault involved.
But police had not even pursued lesser charges of driving with no insurance or licence and missed the six-month expiry date for charging the driver.
His mother Dr Schaible said the Polish driver had an expired Ukranian licence – which is not valid in the UK anyway – and no insurance and should not have been on the road.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has told his mother Dr Nicola Schaible, above, that the driver has no case to answer on charges of causing death while driving without a licence or insurance
She said: ‘If he hadn’t have been on the road, he wouldn’t have killed my son. He was on the road illegally. He was not licensed or insured to drive on British roads.’
It was hoped the driver would face the charge of causing death while driving with no insurance and/or licence.
However the CPS said because there was no evidence of fault, they would not pursue the charge due to a test case in the Supreme Court in 2013, which changed legal precedent.
Dr Schaible, who has five other children, said: ”I don’t want him to go to prison, but I want to see some justice done.’
‘I appealed against the CPS decision but have now received the devastating news that the CPS think there is no case to answer. The fact is that had the driver been following the law of the country he wouldn’t have been on the road at that time.
‘Yes, Patrick was walking down the road in the early hours of the morning, which wasn’t ideal, but several other drivers passed him and they didn’t hit him. He has taken my son’s life and I don’t think that is something he should be able to dismiss.’
Patrick, who she described as ‘such a sweet person’, had mild learning difficulties. He had studied at Houghall Agricultural College in Durham while working as a barman at Darlington Rugby Club in Blackwell Meadows.
Patrick was planning on doing voluntary work abroad and then hoped to join the merchant navy.
Dr Schaible said: ‘What he lacked in being ‘book smart’, he more than made up for in emotional intelligence.
She said: ‘I would come through the door after a tough shift and the others would be telling me about their day and he would take one look at me and say ‘you need a hug’.
Patrick, pictured above, was planning on doing voluntary work abroad and hoped to join the merchant navy. Police had not pursued the lesser charges of driving with no insurance or licence and missed the six-month expiry date for charging the driver
A CPS spokesman said: ‘Following the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of R v Hughes, for any offence of causing death by driving there must be ‘some act or omission in the control of the car, which involves some element of fault, whether amounting to careless or inconsiderate driving or not, and which contributes in some more than minimal way to the death of an individual.’
‘In this case, after detailed examination of the collision report provided by police, the reviewing lawyer found no provable culpability on the part of the driver.
‘In September of this year Andrew Penhale, the Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS North East, met with the mother of Patrick Schaible to explain in detail the decision not to bring a criminal prosecution in this case.
‘Our deepest sympathies remain with Patrick’s family and we wholly appreciate the enormous loss that they have endured as a result of his tragic death. ‘However, we can only be guided by the law in any decision to bring a criminal prosecution.’
A spokesman for Durham Police offered sympathy to the family, but said it would be inappropriate to comment further until the case was heard by the coroner.