Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Ashlie Blakey & Stephen Topping & Lyell Tweed & Bradley Jolly & Abigail Nicholson

Police officer who left schoolboy paralysed after hitting him with car is jailed

A police officer who left a schoolboy paralysed after crashing a patrol car into him has been jailed.

PC Sarah De Meulemeester, 26, ploughed her vehicle into 15-year-old Khia Whitbread after driving at speeds of up to 61mph on 30mph-limit roads, and also going the wrong way around a roundabout. A court heard she was trying to reach an emergency at the time in Stockport, Greater Manchester, on Boxing Day 2020 but collided with Khia.

The boy was left in a persistent vegetative state. He still needs 24-hour care from nurses. Khia was standing in the hatched area behind a roundabout with a friend when another police car, with its blue lights on, sped past on its way to the domestic incident, MirrorOnline reports.

READ MORE: People told to leave their homes within weeks in 'illegal eviction attempt'

The jury heard Khia was distracted watching the car after it passed and stepped into the road not realising the defendant's vehicle, and another Greater Manchester Police car were following. De Meulemeester was found guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court and, today, she was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, and will be disqualified from driving for two years, with a 15-month extension period.

Addressing the woman, Judge David Aubrey KC said: "You are 26 years old. You only ever wanted to be a police officer and you achieved your dream. You live and breathe being a police officer. All that effectively came to an end when on Boxing Day 2020 you did not stop, pause or think of the consequences of the manner in which you were driving.

"It’s impossible to imagine the suffering of his loved ones. His mother sitting constantly by his bedside… the lives of so many family members have been shattered both emotionally and practically."

Pc Sarah De Meulemeester has been jailed for two and a half years at Liverpool Crown Court for leaving the teenager with catastrophic life-change injuries after hitting him in her squad car (PA)

Since the crash, De Meulemeester has suffered from nightmares, panic attacks, anxiety and has required counselling, the judge was told today.

David Temkin KC, defending the police officer, said: "She was of course attending a grade 1 emergency of a nature which was very serious. Her motivations were pure.

"The distance travelled was relatively short on roads that were relatively straight. Furthermore, she is deeply, deeply remorseful. That’s genuine and enduring remorse.

"She accepts for [the victim] and his family she has been the cause for the worst day of their lives."

De Meulemeester, from Chinley, Derbyshire, was "caught up in the adrenaline of the moment," the judge said.

He added: "The court suspects that you were caught up in the adrenaline of the moment and had left all objectivity behind."

But Khia was treated for nine months in the hospital and "was initially in a permanent vegetative state with little awareness of the world around him".

His daily routine is now described as being fed, medicated and having physiotherapy, the boy's mother said. The teen has a period of "brain rest" at a day centre, where he is placed in a darkened room to try and help his brain recover.

His mother added her son is now "like a newborn baby" and "trapped in his own world". Khia's best friend, who was with him on the day of the incident, battled away the tears and described Khia as "the most kindhearted and genuine person".

He added: "My life will never be the same and the trauma will stay with me."

READ NEXT

Timothy Schofield jailed for sexually abusing a teenage boy

Updates as M56 blocked due to 'police incident'

Home Bargains founder becomes the wealthiest Liverpudlian in history

Superdrug's £15 'miracle in a pot' anti-ageing cream works like Botox

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.