The brother of a man killed by a lorry driver who ploughed into his van while having a ‘coughing fit’ has branded the decision not to prosecute ‘absolutely disgusting.’
Father-of-two Philip Beeton was killed when his blue Citroen Relay van was hit by a 20-tonne truck on the A10 near Chittering, Cambridgeshire, on October 7, 2015.
The 50-year-old carpenter was driving home to celebrate his daughter’s 21st birthday with his nephew in the passenger seat when the HGV swerved across lanes and smashed into his van, killing him and seriously injuring 17-year-old Jack Beeton.
Philip Beeton was killed when his blue Citroen Relay van was hit by a 20-tonne truck on the A10 near Chittering, Cambridgeshire, on October 7, 2015. Mr Beeton was driving home for his daughter’s 21st birthday with his nephew in the passenger seat when he was killed
Philip’s younger brother David, Jack’s father has slammed the CPS’s decision not to prosecute after an inquest found truck driver William Abbott didn’t apply his brakes before the crash.
David, 44, said: ‘I’m absolutely disgusted. I realised what a mug we have been taken for.
‘The impact on our family has been massive. We have to live with it every single day knowing Philip’s not coming back and seeing Jack every day.
‘He [Abbott] never once broke in all the time he was going across the road.
‘He walks away without even a driving ban. You get a penalty for speeding.’
Abbott told assistant coroner David Scott Morris that some phlegm caught in his throat made him ‘choke very hard’, causing him to drift across the road.
The 60-year-old told the inquest he couldn’t have done anything to avoid the crash.
The coroner heard it took six seconds for Abbott to drift into oncoming traffic, hitting a Ford Galaxy before careering into Mr Beeton’s van.
Philip’s younger brother David, Jack’s father has slammed the CPS’s decision not to prosecute after an inquest found truck driver William Abbott didn’t apply his brakes before the crash
Philip was pronounced dead at the scene.
An East of England Air Ambulance helicopter piloted by Prince William airlifted Jack to hospital to be treated for ‘life-changing injuries’.
David said the Duke of Cambridge gave his son oxygen to keep him alive while paramedics worked on him.
‘Jack was in hospital for 94 days,’ he said.
‘He was still in a really bad mess when we had Philip’s funeral.
Abbott (left) told assistant coroner David Scott Morris that some phlegm caught in his throat made him ‘choke very hard’, causing him to drift across the road. The 60-year-old told the inquest he couldn’t have done anything to avoid the crash
‘He was asking, “where’s Philip?”, we kept having to tell him he was dead.’
David said his son, now 19, was ‘made of metal’ and only last week had surgery for his multiple injuries.
Philip Beeton’s family have twice challenged the CPS’s decision not to prosecute Abbott after it said there was ‘insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction’.
However, the decision has been upheld.
David said his son, now 19, was ‘made of metal’ and only last week had surgery for his multiple injuries. The coroner recorded that Mr Beeton had ‘died from injuries sustained as a victim in a road traffic collision’
An investigation into the crash found there was nothing wrong with the lorry and that Mr Abbott was in generally good health, not intoxicated and was driving within the 50mph speed limit.
The coroner recorded that Mr Beeton had ‘died from injuries sustained as a victim in a road traffic collision’.
A CPS spokeswoman said: ‘Having looked carefully at all the available evidence, it was decided in May 2017 that there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction in this case.
‘Following a request under the Victims’ Right to Review scheme this decision was reviewed by the Area, and the original decision was upheld.
‘After a meeting with the family of Philip Beeton to discuss the outcome of this review, the case was subject to a further review at the family’s request by a different prosecutor, in accordance with the Victim’s Right to Review scheme.