Driver who fatally hit teenager 'probably distracted'

A driver who fatally hit a "clearly visible" 14-year-old boy was "probably distracted" before the crash, a coroner has said.

Harry Parker died from a brain injury after he was struck by Ivy Mwangi's car outside a school in Swindon, Wiltshire, in November 2022.

During an inquest at Salisbury Coroners' Court, assistant coroner for Wiltshire, Nicholas Rheinberg, said the driving conditions were "perfect", Mwangi had driven under the speed limit, but she had been distracted by a hands-free phone call.

He also said Harry had been distracted by music and "wasn't looking" as he stepped into the road. Rheinburg concluded Harry's death was due to a road traffic collision, not an accident.

During the one-day hearing, the assistant coroner was told by a road collision expert that once Harry had stepped into the road, the collision "could not have been avoided".

He added it was a "tragic mischance that instead of striking Harry with a glancing blow, he was struck substantially".

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) previously dropped criminal charges against Mwangi due to a lack of evidence.

The 50-year-old had been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving without a licence and causing death by driving uninsured.

Mwangi, who is originally from Kenya, gave evidence in the inquest via video link earlier.

She admitted she had been on a hands-free phone call while driving past Nova Hreod Academy on Akers Way and had had a row with her son.

She also said she did not stop at the scene because she "didn't see anything" that she hit and she was not aware of the fact that she was obliged to stop.

Det Con Robin Barrett, of Wiltshire Police, who was on duty when Mwangi was brought into custody, read the transcript of her police interview from 2022 out to the court.

Mwangi told officers she had travelled to a petrol station, back to her house and then to a hairdresser after the fatal collision.

In her interview, Mwangi said she had "panicked" after she heard the bang from the impact, but did not know she had hit Harry.

She also told police she had failed her first UK driving test in 2004 or 2005 because of her English language abilities and had taken the theory test six times.

"To be honest with you, I was taking a risk. I had a provisional licence. I'm a learner," she said.

Mwangi also drove without her prescription glasses on the day of the collision, the inquest was told.

Stephen Fair, a traffic collision expert from Wiltshire Police, said the line of damage on Mwangi's car showed that Harry had not been running at the time of the collision.

He added Mwangi was travelling at approximately 24 to 26mph in the lead up to the collision and her car would have been about 10m away when Harry stepped into the road, despite the green traffic light.

Harry would have been in the road for between 0.7 and 0.9 seconds, while the stopping time for a car travelling at Mwangi's speed would have been between 1.9 and three seconds.

Fair said Mwangi's reactions "may have been slower than usual" due to her phone call, but she "should have seen" Harry approaching from the left.

He added Harry's use of AirPods could have impaired his judgment and coordination too.

Kelly Parker, Harry's mother, told the inquest Harry was a "safety conscious boy who always looked out for others" and who usually took the same route to school.

His father, Adam Parker, said: "Life will never be the same without him here.

"It's a constant struggle to accept he's gone."

Since Harry's death, Will Stone, the Swindon North MP, has introduced a bill to address a "dangerous gap" in the law.

No further charges can be brought against Mwangi, as the lesser charge of driving unlicensed is classified as a summary offence.

Summary offences must be brought within six months.

Stone said he wanted to amend the law to ensure no other family had to go through what Harry's family had experienced.

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