PC sentenced for causing death by careless driving

An incident response police officer has been given a suspended prison sentence after he hit and killed a pedestrian while speeding after another vehicle.

PC Daniel Francis was speeding up to catch up with a car from which a firework had been thrown at a pedestrian in Hounslow in the early hours of 1 November 2019.

Around 15 seconds later he had reached a speed of 54mph in a 20mph speed limit zone when he hit two pedestrians on a zebra crossing, despite attempting to take evasive action.

He had not activated his sirens or emergency lights so as to avoid warning the car he was chasing that they were being pursued.

Andrew Brown, 23, suffered fatal injuries from being hit and a second man escaped with minor injuries.

Simon Ringrose, of the CPS, said: “PC Francis admitted that his driving fell below the standard of a competent and careful driver and that this driving caused the death of Andrew Brown.

"Although PC Francis has now been sentenced for this offence I am acutely aware that this can never reflect the devastating impact that Andrew’s death has had on his family and friends. I do however hope that the guilty plea and sentence offer some resolution to this aspect of this tragic case.”