My life changed at 11pm on Saturday 28 December 1991. I’ve never written or spoken much about this, publicly.
I was sat with my dad watching Christmas TV, just about to go to bed. My folks were up visiting for Christmas – it had been a lovely family time together. My family was very young: a two-year-old boy and 12-month-old baby girl.
The phone rang, and my dad and I looked at each other confused – I said it might be work. I was a police detective sergeant on annual leave, but when the job calls, it calls!
I picked the phone up and all I could hear was – ‘They’re dead – they’re all dead!’ I quickly realised it was George, my wife’s grandfather, and he was saying there had been a crash near Market Harborough.
I went into police mode and tried to calm him down – at one stage I thought he might be confused or asleep, having some sort of nightmare, but I was wrong – the real nightmare was just unfolding. My mother-in-law (Jennifer), sister-in-law (Nicola) and her two-month-old baby (Lauren) had been hit by a drunk driver – a market trader driving a big commercial van – who had lost control at some road works. They were returning home having worked the day in Jennifer’s boutique shop.
The phone call came to an end, and I had to take control. I had to go to Kettering Police Station to get more information and satisfy myself of all the facts and available evidence. I told my dad; we were in a daze. I then had to tell my wife Tracy, who was asleep upstairs, that her mum, sister and baby niece were dead.
I will take to my grave that moment in time when I woke her and what followed. It is seared into my soul.
Not one area of our lives has been left untouched. The pain doesn’t go away. Perhaps you learn to live with it, but the feeling of loss is profound.
Chris Lewis, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire
The days and weeks after the crash were, and still are, a sort of blur, but the bottom line is our lives were radically changed, and the legacy continues to this day, almost 33 years later. The consequences are profound and deep and I’m not sure how it can all be catalogued and described. This is not the right place to go into detail but suffice to say not one area of our lives has been untouched. There has been massive psychological impact for those left behind. There has been deep financial implications and complications. There has been profound impact on family dynamics and their loss and absence, particularly as Christmas approaches, is very difficult to deal with. The pain doesn’t go away. Perhaps you learn to live with it, but the feeling of loss is profound.
The criminal justice system played out – the driver got three years for each death, to run concurrently – perhaps he served about 18 months, I don’t know, and I’m not interested in a sense – it won’t bring them back. He wasn’t bothered, pleading not guilty and trying to imply they were to blame. Thankfully a jury saw through his lies and dishonesty. His contempt for us was outrageous.
So, justice was served in a fashion but back in 1991 people didn’t know what to say to us: people avoided us, it was the elephant in the room. Police support was pretty limited and basic. Brake and RoadPeace and the other fabulous road safety charities had not yet been founded. What did people do ‘After the Crash’? You had to quietly get on with it, or implode I suppose. This had a big effect on me.
Despite the trauma, the sun came up, the sun went down, one day became another day and we realised we had to keep going. We had a young family to nurture and love, and we were determined to survive but a flame had been lit within me.
As a police officer, following our loss, I felt I always had empathy with those who had suffered catastrophic loss. Police culture too often was about being tough and hard and ‘just getting on with it’ but I knew there was another side and I knew that more had to be done to support victims of road trauma.
I worked in roads policing and my personal experiences helped me understand far better the nature of road death investigation and the sensitivities required to do a first class investigation and support those affected. I tried to give back to the bereaved families I met, but I still felt more could be done.
My work with the Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner has given me opportunities to really give back. Our ground-breaking development of the Independent Road Victim Advocate (IRVA) crystallises all that is important for me in supporting victims and survivors of road trauma. Bespoke, open-ended care. A listening ear, empathy and understanding, a hand to hold and walk the recovery road with you until you are ready to stand alone and start coping with the challenges. A professional friend to point you in the right direction and give advice. This should be the norm for all road victims and survivors who choose to avail themselves of the service. It’s what we stand for in Warwickshire because it is the right, proper and best thing to do.
Such a service and support wasn’t there in 1991 and we needed it to get out of the dark and back into the light. The Warwickshire Brake IRVA Service helps me ensure that Jennifer, Nicola and Lauren will never be forgotten after the crash that tragically took them and devastated our family.
This blog was written for Road Safety Week 2024. The theme is After the crash – Every road victim counts. Click here to find out more and sign up to take part.
Views expressed in blogs are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Brake, the road safety charity, or its employees.
Chris Lewis is Policy and Partnerships Officer at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire.