Pensioner, 75, with undiagnosed dementia cleared of causing crash that killed baby boy
12 August 2022, 15:59
A pensioner charged with causing the death of a five-month-old has been found not guilty by reason of insanity because of her undiagnosed dementia.
Shelagh Robertson, 75, was accused of causing death by careless driving of Louis Thorold, who was killed when an oncoming van went on to the pavement and hit his pushchair and his mother, Rachael Thorold.
The jurors found that Ms Robertson's dementia, which had gone undetected and untreated during the Covid pandemic, had affected her driving.
In a statement outside court, Louis's devastated parents, who had tried for a baby for five years before eventually conceiving through IVF, said they "must now look forward" and campaign to make roads safer for children.
Cambridge Crown Court was told that Ms Robertson was driving home after shopping in Tesco in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, when she drove into the path of an oncoming van forcing it on to the pavement where it hit and killed five month-old Louis Thorold and injured his mother.
Louis was pronounced dead at Addenbrooke's Hospital shortly after the crash on January 22, 2021 while Racheal fractured her skull and broke nearly every bone on the right side of her body including her cheek bone, several vertebrae, her pelvis, hip, arm and leg.
She was in a coma for ten days and drifted in and out of consciousness for the next 40.
Judge Mark Bishop told jurors that to return a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity they must be satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, Robertson had dementia at the time and either did not know what she was doing or did not know that what she was doing was wrong.
He said that this "doesn't include a momentary failure to concentrate".
After the jury were out for seven hours, the defendant appeared expressionless as the verdict was returned.
Louis's parents Chris and Rachael Thorold, looked down at the floor, with Mr Thorold shaking his head.
Outside court in a statement Mr Thorold said: "Louis Thorold was the sweetest, happiest, joyful, and most beautiful baby.
"He was perfectly ours. He was our lives, he still is. We love, adore, and cherish him.
"Every moment we had with Louis was so special. We loved every single second. 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."
He added: "We must now look forward. Louis would not want us to be sad or to give up. Louis will live on. His legacy will be that one day no-one will have to deal with the death of a child on Britain's roads.
"The Louis Thorold foundation has already achieved so much, but this is just the start. Our message is simple, no child should die on Britain's roads. The technology systems and approaches exist to eliminate all road deaths. But they require leadership and courage from those we elect to make a difference."
Detective Sergeant Mark Dollard, from the road policing unit, said: "This was an extremely tragic and sad incident and our deepest condolences go out to Louis' family.
"We carried out a thorough and exhaustive inquiry, however, regardless of the verdict nothing will ever bring Louis back and his family will have to live with that for the rest of their lives.
"It is however, a stark reminder of how important it is for anyone who gets behind the wheel of a vehicle to be competent and capable of driving safely."
