Devastated parents of 15-year-old girl killed by BMW as she waited for bus to school are handed restraining order to stop them harassing driver, 52, who was never charged
- Katelyn Dawson was waiting for a bus when a BMW car hit her in Huddersfield
- Richard Brooke was not prosecuted as it was deemed he had fainted at wheel
- Her parents Colin, 47, and Angela, 50, were today given a restraining order
- Couple would drive slowly past Mr Brooke’s home and the shop of his wife Claire
The parents of a 15-year-old girl who was killed after a BMW ploughed into her at a bus stop have been handed a restraining order to stop them harassing the driver.
Katelyn Dawson was waiting for a bus when Richard Brooke’s car mounted the pavement in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and hit her on January 10, 2018.
The Shelley College student died later that day, while a police investigation was dropped after it was deemed that Mr Brooke had fainted at the wheel.
Mr Brooke, 52, has never been prosecuted following the smash in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, much to the dismay of Katelyn’s parents Colin, 47, and Angela, 50.
Today, the couple both appeared at Bradford Magistrates’ Court to face charges of harassment.
Katelyn Dawson (pictured) was waiting for a bus when Richard Brooke’s car mounted the pavement in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and hit her on January 10, 2018
Colin and Angela Dawson leaving Bradford Magistrates Court this afternoon after they were handed a restraining order
The court heard that the couple would drive slowly past Mr Brooke’s home and the shop of his wife Claire.
On one occasion, the Dawsons arrived at the home of Mr Brooke and had a verbal confrontation with both him and his wife.
The Crown Prosecution withdrew the harassment charge today after the Dawsons agrees to abide by a two-year restraining order.
The order prevents them from contacting the Brookes or their relatives, approaching an area around their home or sharing information about the couple of social media.
Mr Brooke, 52, has never been prosecuted following the smash in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, much to the dismay of Katelyn’s parents Colin, 47, and Angela, 50
The CPS has stated the BMW which killed Katelyn (pictured) was being driven dangerously but the motorist was not criminally responsible for her death due to ‘insane automatism’
District Judge Richard Clews told the Dawsons: ‘Anyone hearing of these circumstances would, I have no doubt, the profoundest of sympathies.
‘Everything you did or may have done is likely to be a way of trying to express your grief and possible sense of injustice rather than deliberately attempting to break the Law. Your actions are understandable, to a point.’
The CPS has stated the BMW which killed Katelyn was being driven dangerously but the motorist was not criminally responsible for her death due to ‘insane automatism’.
Specialist prosecutor Susie Egan, of the CPS Appeals and Review Unit, argued in an eight-page report that Mr Brooke likely fainted at the wheel.
A consultant neurologist also concluded that the suspect did suffer a medical event and it is likely that this was caused by a respiratory tract infection.
In criminal cases, defendants can be cleared of any charge if they can show they were probably in a state of ‘automatism’ at the time.
Although highly complex, in simple terms it means that people in this condition perform acts without intent and awareness of what is being done.