Car Crashed Caused By Police Officer While Off Duty Told Other Driver Not To Call 999
Car Crashed Caused By Police Officer While Off Duty Told Other Driver Not To Call 999: Policeman Thomas Lockley of Dorset entered a guilty plea to charges of failing to stop after an accident and driving without the required amount of care and attention
A court has heard that an off-duty police officer caused an automobile accident and then drove off, telling the other motorist there was no need to dial 999. The 39-year-old Thomas Lockley lost control of his BMW, swerved into the oncoming lane, and collided head-on with another vehicle.
Both automobiles sustained substantial damage in the collision. He identified himself as an off-duty police officer to the other driver, telling him he could handle the situation without calling the police. The 39-year-old then fled the scene without disclosing any further information.
After receiving a call, the police visited Lockley at his Verwood, Dorset, home. Lockley, a Bournemouth-based frontline police officer with Dorset police, entered a guilty plea to charges of reckless driving and failing to halt following an accident.
Judges informed him that as a police officer, he was expected to know better than to leave the scene without providing his details. before 3:45 p.m. on January 24, Lockley was driving his two-year-old son around to put him to sleep, according to testimony given before the Weymouth magistrates court. The incident occurred on the B3078 close to Cranborne.
He said that as he was adjusting his son’s blanket, his black BMW slid across the center line and into the path of a Kia. “He negotiated the left-hand bend fine but then drifted across the central line into the path of the front offside of the vehicle,” stated prosecutor Gareth Huston. Both cars sustained substantial damage, and they came to a stop around 50 meters apart.
He went over to the other motorist and informed him that because he was off duty, there was no need to call the police. “[The other driver] asked him to identify himself and the defendant said he hadn’t got his ID with him. He asked where he was based and he said Bournemouth station. The defendant then walked away.
The defendant said, “No, don’t call 999, I just veered off and hit the car,” in response to a witness who suggested that they contact the police. He was adamant that he could handle the situation. She clicked pictures.
“The defendant did not provide any details and left the scene before the police arrived.” Lockley made the “split-second decision” to leave the scene with his father-in-law after calling to pick up his small son.
Later on, he said he departed because the other driver was “hostile.” Mr. Lockley often drives around the area to get his son to fall asleep,” defense attorney Miranda Zeffman stated. He glanced away from the road for a second to straighten his son’s blanket that had dropped.
““He did tell the other driver he is a police officer, to reassure him. As a police officer he knows when there has been a crash where no one is injured and the road is not obstructed it is not best practice for the police to be called Panic was not warranted. His work had taught him what had to be done.
The discussion turned fairly violent once he revealed to him that he was a police officer, and he withdrew to his car. He made the snap choice to go with his father-in-law rather than stay at the scene when he came to pick up his kid.
He regrets the snap decision he made at the time. It was evident that there were crossed wires rather than a deliberate attempt to elude. She stated that Lockley has been prescribed medicine for his clinical depression and anxiety, and that he has taken extended leaves of absence or worked less hours as a result.
She further mentioned that he had been signed off again because of this incident. Weymouth Magistrates’ Court heard he had no previous convictions.
Magistrates ordered him to pay £479 fine, a £132 surcharge and £110 prosecution costs. They also gave him seven points on his driving licence.
