• R v NANSON - Causing death by dangerous driving

This concerned a collision involving four fatalities whereby a small passenger car carrying four local teenagers was struck whilst pulling out of a minor side road onto a major country A road by a large 4 x 4 vehicle.  Robert was able to explain to the court and jury why the Crown’s Expert’s reconstruction was incorrect by addressing human factors, such that the Defendant was unable to do anything in the time available to him to avoid the collision.  The Crown’s Expert accepted Robert’s evidence and the Judge directed the Prosecution to stop the trial and offer no further evidence.

• R v FIROUZIAN  - Causing death by careless driving

A foreign student was run over and killed by a bus turning into a junction late at night.  Robert and his team were able to show that the pedestrian would have always been within the driver’s blind spot, that she would have been inconspicuous against the unlit dark background and that the imagery evidence provided by the Crown’s Expert was seriously flawed.  The Jury found the Defendant not guilty by unanimous decision.

• R v ALLINGTON – Murder

A murder case where the Defendant was attacked whilst in his vehicle by a group of youths.  As he attempted to escape the locus, one of the attackers was inadvertently run over by the Defendant’s car.  The Crown’s Expert alleged that the Defendant deliberately drove at and then over the pedestrian.  Robert’s forensic evidence was able to show to the jury how the Crown’s proposition was flawed and that there was no evidence of a deliberate act.  The Jury took very little time in finding the Defendant not guilty of murder, or of any other offence, by unanimous verdict.

• R v BAYLIS - Causing death by dangerous driving

The Defendant’s car was struck head on by another car which was overtaking in the opposite direction.  The Crown alleged that because of the Defendant’s standard of driving witnessed about five minutes previously, they sought to link the two events and placed liability on him for the collision where the driver of the overtaking car died. During his investigation, Robert closed the dual carriageway at the locus for reconstruction tests and was able to show that the collision was not the fault of the Defendant.  On the morning of the trial at the Crown Court, the Crown’s Expert accepted Robert’s evidence and the charge was dropped.

• R v LAWRENCE – Murder

Robert’s investigation of the forensic evidence on behalf of the prosecution was able to show the Defendant had deliberately disengaged the passenger airbag prior to crashing his car and that he had unclipped his passenger’s seat belt in the instant before impact.   The Defendant was found guilty of murder by a unanimous verdict and sentenced to life in prison.  

• 4 x 4 Fatal Crash in Egypt

This case involved a 4 x 4 vehicle where the occupants were being chauffeured on the desert road between Cairo and Alexandra.  The driver lost control of the vehicle and drove over a ravine killing his passengers.  The Egyptian Police determined the 4 x 4 had suffered a tyre blow out and deemed that the driver was not responsible.  Robert examined the locus and the vehicle and was able to show that the tyre had not suffered a blow out and that instead, the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel whilst driving at between 92 to 110mph.