Police officer sentenced after causing death of 80-year-old man by careless driving

A PC who struck and killed an elderly man on a pedestrian crossing while driving a police van has been sentenced. 

PC Steven Allcock, 34, was behind the wheel of a marked police van on the eastbound carriageway of the A52 Derby Road, in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, on 19 December 2023 when he struck 80-year-old Trevor Bartlett.

Just after 6.30pm, Mr Bartlett was using the pedestrian crossing at the B6006 Wollaton Road junction, opposite the Nurseryman pub, which was displaying a ‘green man’.

Driving with the blue lights and sirens activated, PC Allcock was transporting a man who had just been arrested on suspicion of assault to the custody suite in Nottingham. The man was distressed and was causing disruption in the back of the vehicle by banging his head and shouting abuse.

The police van travelled through a red light in the bus lane of the eastbound carriageway and struck Mr Bartlett on the crossing. He died at the scene from his injuries.

PC Allcock, of Nottinghamshire Police, was a trained standard response driver, having completed his training in November 2023, and was permitted to use legal exemptions, if justified, when driving for a policing purpose.

PC Allcock accepted his driving was careless on the day in question and pleaded guilty to causing the death of Mr Bartlett by careless driving at Derby Magistrates’ Court on 29 January 2026.

At the same court today, he was sentenced to a 12-month community order, with a requirement to undertake 180 hours of unpaid work. He also received a two-year driving disqualification. 

This prosecution followed an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Elizabeth Reid, Specialist Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said: “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable death. While police officers are permitted, in strictly limited circumstances, to rely on driving exemptions, those exemptions come with an absolute responsibility to protect the public.

“PC Steven Allcock’s manner of driving was careless and unjustified, and it directly caused the death of an innocent man who was simply walking home.

“Our thoughts remain with Trevor Bartlett’s family, whose lives have been permanently changed by this devastating loss.”

Behind the conviction:

The CPS worked closely with the IOPC to build a strong case. Following analysis of PC Allcock’s driving on the day, prosecutors determined that:

• PC Allcock approached the red light at the Nurseryman junction at an unsuitable speed. His view was obscured, as lanes two and three had stationary vehicles, and Mr Bartlett was not visible, due to the presence of these vehicles.
• His driving demonstrated limited anticipation of foreseeable hazards and did not comply with response driver training.
• PC Allcock approached the crossing at a speed which allowed him insufficient time to adequately react to Mr Bartlett’s presence on the crossing.