A SENIOR States police officer has apologised to the family of a teenager who died in a 2019 car crash after admitting that a ‘poor’ investigation had left them with unanswered questions.
At the inquest of 18-year-old Aaron Banks, Inspector David Turnbull – who re-examined the crash at the request of the family – gave a damning account of the original handling of the investigation, including that a recording of a 999 call about the incident was not kept, with no explanation as to why.
And the Infrastructure Department has been ordered to remove or reconstruct a wall – which a witness described as ‘essentially a ramp’ – which Mr Banks’s car had struck.
Mr Banks – who had been due to become the Jersey Lifeboat Association’s youngest crew member – suffered ‘extensive’ head injuries after his red Suzuki Jimny struck a low granite wall next to the northbound lane of St Peter’s Valley and flipped on to its side before sliding along the road and colliding with a blue Ford Focus between Tesson Mill and the Mont Fallu junction.
Yesterday, Deputy Viscount Mark Harris ruled that it was not clear what had caused Mr Banks to hit the wall.
Insp Turnbull told the inquest it was ‘obvious that the initial investigation was poor’.
‘When I was asked to review the investigation it would be fair to say that the quantity and contents of the initial statements were not as I would have expected as a senior investigating officer. There were clearly significant gaps in the information, which two years later was challenging,’ Insp Turnbull added.
He also said a recording of a 999 call was not kept, with no explanation why, while one witness statement was recorded three months after the crash, with ‘no clear reason why’. He said the initial statement of a crucial witness was only around a paragraph long, and he was concerned at its ‘considerable lack of detail’.
He said there had been no SIO report and added: ‘I would expect an SIO report to accompany any investigation.’
Insp Turnbull continued: ‘I am very conscious this has left the family with more questions than answers. The initial investigation has not helped the family and has probably still left a lot of questions that we will probably not be able to answer three years down the line now.’
Insp Turnbull said the States police had apologised to the Banks family and there would also be a formal public apology.
The parents of Mr Banks – who were present at the inquest – were commended by Advocate Harris for ‘trying to find answers to these inquiries to what happened to Aaron’.
Advocate Harris said it was not lost on him that yesterday would also have been Mr Banks’s birthday, with the young boat mechanic being described during the inquest as ‘clearly a very popular and well-liked young man with a loving and supportive family’.
Insp Turnbull said there was also no evidence from the original investigation to confirm that all witnesses were asked for dashcam footage, something that should be asked ‘as a matter of course in any fatal road traffic collision’.
He said coming to the case two years down the line had been ‘extremely difficult’ and added: ‘Had we got this right in the first place, with detailed statements, we would not be in the difficult positions we are now.’
Advocate Harris ruled that it was ‘not at all clear’ what had led Mr Banks’s Suzuki to depart from the carriageway, with a subsequent report by collision investigator Detective Constable Donna Hewlett finding no evidence as to the cause.
He said he would be issuing an order to the Infrastructure Department that the wall, which was described by one eye witness as ‘essentially a ramp’, be reconstructed or removed ‘given its association with the fatality’.
This should be done in conjunction with the family, he added, as it was also the site of a memorial to Mr Banks. Advocate Harris said he would be writing to the States police about the first investigation to address the ‘lessons to be learned’.
Earlier in the inquest, the Infrastructure Department’s head of transport, Tristen Dodd, indicated that they would lodge a planning application to remove the wall, which had been damaged in a previous accident when it was clipped by a car in 2018.
Mr Dodd said a road-safety audit had been carried out previously, and that the structure was ‘still considered low risk and not unusual within the context of Jersey’s road network’.
No drugs or alcohol were found in Mr Banks’s system, both cars involved in the crash were found to be in a roadworthy condition and DC Hewlett said there was no evidence at the scene that either car was travelling at excessive speed.
The family raised concerns over the potential involvement in the crash of a yellow UK-registered car being driven by one witness, resulting in a third police report.
One statement from the witness appeared not to be signed, with the family’s lawyer, Advocate David Steenson, saying there was no proof it had come from her.
‘It is pretty poor policing, isn’t it?’ asked Advocate Steenson.
‘It is not ideal,’ responded Insp Turnbull.
In her report, DC Hewlett said her investigation found no ‘physical evidence’ that Mr Banks’s vehicle interacted with anyone else’s before the crash, but Advocate Steenson raised concerns that this avenue was not pursued further by the police at the time.
