Interesting newspiece

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mxdi

Original Poster:

13,993 posts

256 months

Tuesday 23rd January 2007
quotequote all
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/62

Read right til end.


Racing driver cleared of killing
A professional racing driver has been cleared of killing a woman in a high speed road crash.
James Sutton, 21, said he blacked out seconds before his Ford Focus struck a Renault Laguna on a roundabout.

Laguna passenger Angela Martin, 55, of Banbury, Oxon, died on the A45 near Daventry, Northants, in December 2005.

Mr Sutton, of Cromer Road, New Barnet, Herts, was found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after a trial at Northampton Crown Court.

The defendant said he was suffering from automatism, which left him physically but not mentally in control of his car, in the moments before the crash.

'Move on'

Jurors took just over four hours to acquit Mr Sutton.

Speaking after the verdict, Mr Sutton said: "It has been dreadful for our family and the other side, I am just glad it has been resolved and I know that both families can begin to move on."

Mr Sutton had been test driving at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire the day before the accident, where he span off the track and hit a concrete wall, injuring his neck and spine.

The impact of the crash was so severe the racing car was left in several pieces, but Mr Sutton was given the all-clear by medical staff, who found no sign of brain injury or trauma.


Mr Sutton, a semi-professional racing driver, was in his second season of single-seater racing when the crash happened.

Must have been a horrendous time for both families

mark r skinner

16,744 posts

224 months

Tuesday 23rd January 2007
quotequote all
Someting not right there. "not mentally in control of the car" Can`t see why medics would give him the OK to drive after the previous shunt? (eg Hamster`s crash)

Also was he professional or semi-professional? Both sound dubious.