Our thoughts are with all today, after the driver of the car that caused the death of Kiri-Jade Hodgkinson and Barbara Ford is sentenced. This in from the police, in their own words. Ed
At around 3.12pm on Thursday, January 2, 2014, a fatal road traffic collision occurred on the Mersley Down Road, Isle of Wight.
This case was investigated by Hampshire Constabulary’s Road Death Investigation Team. The collision involved two vehicles: a red Renault Clio containing three people and a silver Renault Megane convertible containing two people.
The Renault Megane was travelling east on Mersley Down Road when it was in a collision with the Renault Clio travelling west, between Knighton Shute and Rowlands Lane.
Clio lost control
Investigators believe the Clio lost control on a right hand bend shortly before the collision and then crossed onto the oncoming carriageway where it was struck by the oncoming Megane. The front of the Megane collided with the nearside of the Clio causing substantial damage to the Clio.
The front seat passenger of the Clio, a 14-year-old girl Kiri Jade Hodgkinson , was pronounced dead at the scene. The 18-year-old driver of the Clio, Jack Powell, from Sandown, was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital with life threatening injuries, from which he has since recovered.
The rear seat passenger, a 13-year-old girl, was also airlifted to Southampton General Hospital with serious injuries. She received two broken legs and a broken ankle, and is still recuperating from her injuries.
The other car
The car driver of the Megane, 67-year-old Douglas Ford, from Brading, received minor injuries and was treated at St Mary’s Hospital, Newport, before being released.
His wife, Barbara Ford, also 67, was the front seat passenger. She sustained serious injuries and died in the early hours of Friday, January 3, 2014.
Little or no time to react
The investigation found that it was extremely unlikely Mr Ford would have been able to have avoided the collision with the Clio, because it suddenly appeared in front of him and in his pathway, giving him little or no opportunity to react or take avoiding action.
Jack Powell was charged with two counts of causing death by careless driving. He appeared at Newport Magistrates Court on Friday, June 13, and pleaded guilty to both offences.
Magistrate issued sentence
Today (Friday, July 4) he was sentenced to a 12 month Community Order with 250 hours unpaid work. He was also given a nine month curfew and a five year disqualification from driving, with an order to have an extended retest before being allowed a return to driving.
Sergeant Rob Heard, deputy senior investigating officer for Operation Mohite, said:
“This is a tragic case which has brought about the untimely and sudden loss of two people and serious injuries to three others.
“Jack Powell had passed his driving test just two weeks before this collision, and this case highlights the dangers that young and new drivers face when first taking to the roads independently.
“Young drivers need to be aware that just because they have passed a driving test does not mean that they are fully experienced drivers. Experience is gained every time we take to the road and never stops, we are all learning and developing our driving skills every day we drive on our roads.
“There are many courses available to help new drivers to develop their skills and I would urge young drivers to undertake additional training after passing their tests whenever possible.
“Our thoughts and best wishes go out to the families and friends of all concerned, as this tragic incident has affected many people.”
