Fiona Robertson prosecuted Christopher Jackson who pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving arising out of a fatal collision on the pedestrianised area of The Strand on 18 March 2025.
The defendant was collecting an electric van from Kings College on 18 March 2025. It was a sunny, spring day and many people were making use of the benches and pedestrianised area by St Mary le Strand.
As the defendant attempted to set off from a courtyard car park within Bush House, he pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the vehicle to crash through the metal gates that led onto the pedestrianised area of The Strand. The gates were knocked off their hinges and struck two students causing life changing injuries.
The van travelled across the footway, over a flower bed and collided with the bench where the victim, a student at the university, was sitting with her friend. The victim was catastrophically injured and, despite efforts to resuscitate her, tragically died at the scene.
The victim was studying physics and philosophy at Kings College and was just 20 years old when she was killed. Her family paid tribute to her in moving victim impact statements read as part of the sentencing hearing.
It was accepted the case involved a genuine pedal error which led to unintentional acceleration causing the defendant to lose control of the van. The Judge recognised the defendant did not intent to cause any harm but concluded that there was a significant level of irresponsibility in the defendant driving a large commercial van in a busy part of central London when he had no experience of driving electric vehicles.
Recognising the defendant’s genuine remorse and early guilty pleas the Judge concluded the least sentence he could impose was one of 8 years. The defendant was disqualified from driving for 5 years with a 64 month extension period.
The case has been widely reported in the national press:
Fiona Robertson