CPS advises police to charge father over deaths of children in Land Rover accident
21/07/2008
Lincolnshire Crown Prosecution Service has today advised Lincolnshire Police to charge Nigel Gresham with four offences of causing death by dangerous driving following an accident in which four of his seven children died.
Jaswant Kaur Narwal, Chief Crown Prosecutor for Lincolnshire, said: "This is a very sad case and we have spent a great deal of time reviewing the evidence and considering the public interest before making the decision to prosecute.
"It is not a decision which has been taken lightly given the tragic deaths of Mr Gresham's children and the loss he has suffered as their father."
Mr Gresham was the driver of a Land Rover which went into the River Witham on 16 September 2007 after an accident on Witham Bank near Tattershall Bridge, Lincolnshire. His children, Willow, aged two, Angel, aged four, Thor, aged six, and Keavy, aged eight, all died.
Mr Gresham is appearing today at Grantham Magistrates' Court.
Notes to Editors
- In the Land Rover on the day of the accident were Mr Gresham, his partner Sara Bolland, and their children: Willow (two), Angel (four), Thor (six), Keavy (eight), Amber (10), Liam (12), and Star (13).
- The accident happened at Witham Bank, near Tattershall Bridge. The Land Rover was submerged in the River Witham.
- The maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving is 14 years.
- The CPS policy for prosecuting cases of bad driving is available on this website.
- Media enquiries to CPS Press Office on 020 7796 8180.
- The Crown Prosecution Service is the Government Department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. It is responsible for:
- Advising the police and reviewing the evidence on cases for possible prosecution;
- Deciding the charge where the decision is to prosecute;
- Preparing cases for court;
- Presentation of cases at court;
The CPS consists of 42 Areas in total, each headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP). A telephone service, CPS Direct, provides out-of-hours advice and decisions to police officers across England and Wales. The CPS employs around 8,400 people and prosecuted 1,091,250 cases with an overall conviction rate of 83.7% in 2006-2007.
The CPS, together with ACPO and media representatives, has developed a Protocol for the release of prosecution material to the media. This sets out the type of prosecution material that will normally be released, or considered for release, together with the factors we will take into account when considering requests.
