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Baby death crash driver aged 75 is cleared — because she has dementia

Daily Mail Reporter

A PENSIONER who killed a baby boy when her car crashed into a van has been cleared – because she had undiagnosed dementia.

Shelagh Robertson, 75, had been driving home from Tesco when she turned into the path of an oncoming van in January last year.

The collision forced the Renault Master van on to the pavement, hitting five-month-old Louis Thorold who was being pushed in a pram by his mother Rachael.

The baby died at the scene in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, while Mrs Thorold spent 118 days in hospital with serious injuries.

Yesterday Louis’ father Chris Thorold broke down outside Cambridge Crown Court, describing his son’s death as a ‘life sentence’ for the family.

‘Every moment we had with Louis was so special. We loved every single second,’ he said.

‘Louis knew only love and cuddles before he was killed by Shelagh Robertson.

‘Louis’ future and all his potential stolen, a life sentence for us, his family, our community, and everyone who hears this story.’

Yesterday a jury found Mrs Robertson not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving by reason of insanity. Defending, James Leonard told the trial that it was ‘obvious’ Mrs Robertson’s driving ‘fell below the standard of a reasonable and competent driver’.

But he said she was ‘ill-equipped to negotiate’ the junction on the A10 due to her dementia – which she was unaware of because it hadn’t been diagnosed at the time.

He added: ‘She’s trying to be safe but she just doesn’t have the presence of mind to be safe.’

Prosecutor David Matthew said that there was ‘no doubt’ Mrs Robertson has dementia and ‘was suffering from it in January 2021.’

Pointing to an MRI scan taken in autumn last year, he said that a part of Mrs Robertson’s brain associated with memory and language had shrunk – showing ‘strong evidence’ of the condition.

However, he asked where she was ‘on the slope’ of the syndrome at the time of the crash adding: ‘It’s not just a question of whether someone has dementia, it’s a question of how bad it is.’

Professor Adam Zeman, who compiled a report for Mrs Robertson’s lawyers, told the jury that she was suffering from an ‘atypical’ form of dementia and that her diagnosis had been slower due to pandemic restrictions. He added that she would have been at ‘high risk of becoming confused at that junction and one possible outcome of the confusion would be to look the wrong way’.

Judge Mark Bishop told the jury that if they found Mrs Robertson not guilty, they must be satisfied that she had dementia at the time and either did not know what she was doing or did not know that it was wrong. He added that this ‘doesn’t include a momentary failure to concentrate’.

Mrs Robertson, who had been listening on a hearing loop, was expressionless as the special verdict was delivered yesterday.

Mr Thorold was seen staring at the floor and shaking his head following the verdict after more than seven hours of jury deliberations.

MISS MONEYSAVER

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2022-08-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

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