Whaplode St Catherine crash victims appeal to police for more details
A mother and son seriously injured in a crash in Whaplode St Catherine have accused police of ‘downgrading’ the accident.
Their Ford KA was in collision with another car at the B1168/B1165 Bank junction, known as Saturday Bridge, in December 2014.
The Holbeach St Johns residents, who asked not to be named, suffered haematoma (swelling of blood clots within the tissues) and chest injuries respectively.
The son said: “We were travelling along the B1168 Raven’s Gate from Holbeach after doing some shopping there when another car started pulling out at speed at the B1165 Saturday Bridge (Raven’s Bank) junction.
“I didn’t have time to move my foot from the accelerator to the brake and the next thing I knew, we were in a field.
“When I looked across at Mum and saw blood dripping from her face, I was afraid that she was going to die.”
She said: “I’ve suffered, on and off, for two-and-a-half years because of this accident, but the police classified it as being ‘slight’.
“I think they are downgrading these accidents so as to avoid giving the county highways department the responsibility of keeping roads in Lincolnshire safe.
“If the police don’t report the facts of accidents, drivers won’t know the dangers of junctions like the one at Saturday Bridge.”
A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said: “When there is a collision, officers complete a National Collision Reporting Form (NCRF) which only has four options - ‘death, serious injury, minor injury or damage only’.
“The definition of serious injury, for the purposes of the NCRF, is where the injury is ‘less than life-changing but is still at a level that would amount to grievous bodily harm where the injured party has been detained in hospital for treatment, not just for observation.
“For anyone involved in an accident, it is a hugely traumatic event and they would not class it as ‘minor’ by their own definition of the term.
“However, Lincolnshire Police adheres to the national reporting standards used by all police forces.”
