Warning: The above video shows footage from a police helicopter on the scene of the A47 fatal crash last July and contains scenes that some people may find distressing.

 

6 September 2011

A 34 year old man who killed one person after colliding with six cars on the A47 last summer today starts a six year sentence.

Helicopter footage of the aftermath of the horrifying crash has also been released by officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Team in the hope of preventing other families from suffering the tragic consequences of drivers failing to concentrate on the road ahead.

"I hope the footage we have released will help other drivers to consider their actions more thoroughly"

Steve Matthews, Head of Serious Collision Investigation Team

Despite denying the charge, Simon Bothamley from Ramsey in Cambridgeshire was unanimously found guilty of dangerous driving at Norwich Crown Court on Thursday 25 August and was today additionally disqualified from driving for five years and will have to take an extended driving test before he can regain his licence.

Bothamley had been driving a DAF heavy goods lorry on the A47 in the early afternoon of Saturday 10 July 2010 when, close to the A146 slip road at Trowse, he was in collision with a line of slow moving traffic. Initially with a Ford Mondeo, before then hitting three of the other vehicles involved including another Ford Mondeo, a BMW 320d and a Landrover Discovery.

Sadly the front seat passenger in the first Ford Mondeo, Elizabeth Bird, aged 52 and from Leighton Buzzard, received fatal injuries as a result of the collision.

Steve Matthews, Head of the Serious Collision Investigation Team, which led the enquiry into Mrs Bird’s death, commented on the sentence saying: “Any lapse in concentration whilst driving can have horrifying consequences.

"Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of such events and demonstrates that both Norfolk Constabulary and the Courts will not tolerate such lapses in driving behaviour.

"I hope the footage we have released will help other drivers to consider their actions more thoroughly whilst travelling on Norfolk’s roads.”

PC Chris Tremlin, Wymondham Roads Policing, who attended the scene moments after the collision and was also the Family Liaison Officer for the Bird family, described the scene as 'utter carnage and devastation - it was like the scene out of a film'.

He added, "I have attended numerous serious and fatal road collisions over the years and without a doubt this was one of the most horrendous scenes my colleagues and I have witnessed. I find it remarkable that only one person has died."

 

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