A chief constable driving a large SUV stopped to help at the scene of an accident but made matters worse by crashing into another car.
Simon Byrne, head of Cheshire police, was hoping to “prevent further harm” to those in and around the crash wreckage when he collided with an oncoming car. The force has had to concede third-party liability costs to the other driver.
Mr Byrne was off duty and behind the wheel of his BMW X3 when he came across a serious road accident, with members of the public trying to free injured people trapped inside a car. The second crash happened as he was trying to park.
A source within the force said that Mr Byrne was embarrassed by the incident, particularly because he was such a “hands-on” chief constable.
The accident has ruffled some feathers within the force as detectives drive around in much less expensive cars, such as Vauxhall Corsas.
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The source said: “But at least he wasn’t driving a Range Rover as that would have been much worse.”
The remark was a reference to Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan police commissioner, who drives a £65,000 Range Rover complete with a £1,000 back-seat entertainment system.
Mr Byrne’s spokesman said that when he came across the accident four weeks ago he “took action to protect the public and prevent further harm . . . as is expected of any Cheshire officer, on or off duty”.
He said that Mr Byrne had assessed the situation and activated his emergency blue lights before proceeding slowly into the junction, but that there was a “minor collision at slow speed — 5 to 7mph — with another vehicle”.
The spokesman said: “Mr Byrne immediately reported both the initial and subsequent collisions and carried on assisting those at the scene until the arrival of marked police vehicles.”
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A member of Mr Byrne’s family is believed to have been in the car at the time. The spokesman added: “The car is insured for both business and personal use, including its use to transport friends and family. It is not a marked police vehicle, but does have discreet blue lights fitted if and when the car is used for emergency enforcement activity.”
Mr Byrne was breathalysed at the scene and the test was negative.