Police officer left fellow copper in coma after 70mph smash into patrol car
A police officer was left in a coma when a colleague responding to an emergency call smashed into their patrol car at 70mph.
Ashleigh McAdams ran a red light and was T-boned by the other vehicle, which was racing to respond to a 999 call. The collision left one of her colleagues in intensive care with a bleed on the brain and in a coma for four days.
Another colleague, with more than two decades of service, remains unable to return to the frontline as a result of the incident, Liverpool Crown Court heard. McAdams, 31, was driving a marked Peugeot 308 with PC Charlotte Waters as her passenger when their car "collided at speed" with another police car shortly after midnight on July 11 last year.
Ben Berkson, prosecuting, described how both had their emergency lights and sirens activated while rushing to separate incidents. The latter, a Kia vehicle being driven by PC Gary Carson with PC Mark Lockett as his passenger, was en route to a burglary and travelling at speeds of 70mph, Liverpool Echo reports.
Dashcam footage taken from PC Carson's vehicle showed him smash into the side of the other car. Mr Berksen said: "The prosecution say Ms McAdams failed to properly give way as she should have done and failed to properly slow the vehicle. She failed to observe the vehicle and drove at excess speed across that carriageway."
Under interview with detectives, McAdams said her memory was "foggy" but "accepted she drove too quickly when the collision happened". She suffered a broken pelvis and a fractured foot during the crash, undergoing treatment at Aintree Hospital before being discharged on July 14.
Ashleigh McAdams ran a red light and was T-boned by the other vehicle, which was racing to respond to a 999 call (Liverpool Echo)While PC Carson walked away with only "minor cuts and bruises", PC Waters suffered a collapsed lung and was placed into a coma for four days due to a bleed on the brain - spending nine days in hospital in total. The former prison officer, who joined Merseyside Police in 2020, still continues to have issues with her speech and balance and "requires assistance with normal tasks".
A statement read out to the court on her behalf described how she had been due to move into a new house with her boyfriend at the time, having picked up the keys less than two weeks beforehand. But the first night the 22-year-old spent in her home came after she was discharged from hospital.
PC Waters added: "What should have been a happy experience was taken away from me. I don't think it really hit me at first what happened. I went to work and woke up in hospital. It was like a missing jigsaw piece, everything has just halted.
"I feel too young to have this taken away from me. My job is part of my identity. A massive part of my life has been taken away. I miss everything about work, I really enjoyed it. This was going to be me long-term career. No two days were the same, now every day is the same.
"I'm stuck in the house. My life has been turned upside down. It is difficult to comprehend. I was told by one doctor that only five per cent who suffer the injuries I suffered survive. Another doctor said to me, 'welcome to your second life'. I thank my lucky stars, because this could have ended so differently."
McAdams said her memory was "foggy" but "accepted she drove too quickly when the collision happened" (Liverpool Echo)Mr Berkson stated she is "still hopeful she may return to work in the police". PC Mark Lockett meanwhile sustained slipped discs, whiplash and injuries to his neck, shoulders, coccyx, hips and ribs.
Richard Orme, defending, told the court his client had also been diagnosed with PTSD, while her dad died from bowel cancer four months prior to the crash. She was said to have been on a break when other officers put out a "grade one" request for urgent assistance, and he added: "One never knows whether that is going to be a threat to life and limb."
McAdams remains a serving officer, but is still expected to face disciplinary proceedings. She previously received a commendation for administering CPR to a murder victim in 2021 and has been recommended for another, having served on the frontline when violence erupted during protests at the Suites Hotel in Kirkby in February this year.
Mr Orme said: "She is a young lady who has dedicated herself assiduously to her self-betterment. She is someone who cares deeply about others, she could not be spoken more highly of."
McAdams' counsel said that any sentence of imprisonment, whether suspended or to be served immediately, would be "career ending for her", adding: "This was a tragic, tragic set of circumstances, unfortunate in terms of the consequences and the timing of the emergency vehicle which never anticipated the presence of the other blue lights on the junction at that time.
"It is clear that serving the public has always been the raison d'etre for this young lady. She carries a huge amount of guilt. She is a woman of the utmost integrity.
"She is deeply ashamed. She apologies to the court. She was focussed on an officer potentially in danger. She apologies to those whose lives have been affected by a momentary loss of concentration - this is something that is unlikely to happen again."
McAdams admitted causing serious injury by careless driving and was handed a 12-month community order with a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days and 180 hours of unpaid work.
Sentencing, Judge Gary Woodhall said: "The other vehicle was unable to avoid colliding with the side of your vehicle. A substantial collision occurred. Although you and the driver of the other vehicle were exempt from observing certain rules of the road, you remained under a duty to have regard to the safety of your driving and how that could have an impact on others. You failed to properly slow down your vehicle or give way.”
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