Police Officer Struck Motorcyclist Couple While Racing to Save Choking Baby

A jury needed just 56 minutes to convict PC Mark Roberts of causing death by dangerous driving, after the Northumbria Police officer ran a red light at speed and struck a motorcycle carrying a retired couple near the MetroCentre retail park in Gateshead. The fatal collision on 8 July 2022 occurred while Roberts was responding to a Grade 1 emergency call: a five-week-old baby had stopped breathing.

The North East Ambulance Service had alerted Northumbria Police hoping a patrol car could reach the infant and begin CPR before paramedics arrived. Roberts, 57, activated blue lights and sirens in his marked Peugeot 308. But evidence at Teesside Crown Court showed he had already failed to safely negotiate one set of red traffic lights before reaching the fatal junction on Dunston Road. Dashcam analysis placed him at no less than 43mph in a 30mph zone on approach; the red light had been showing for approximately six seconds. His estimated speed at impact, after braking, was 25mph.

Ronald Pinkney, 77, was travelling at approximately 20mph on a clear green light and told police he did not see or hear the police car until it was too late. His wife Muriel, 74, was riding pillion. The couple were returning from a day out in Northumberland. Roberts later told investigators he saw a white van make an emergency stop, heard "a loud bang," and briefly lost consciousness as both airbags deployed. When he came round, he saw two people lying in the road.

Muriel Pinkney died in hospital nine days later from fatal head and neck injuries. Ronald survived but underwent emergency surgery for bleeding on the brain and sustained multiple fractures including broken ribs and a leg fracture; he now walks with a severe limp.

Roberts, based at Whickham Police Station, initially pleaded guilty in January 2025 to the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving but denied the dangerous driving counts. A police driving expert told the court his manner of driving was "not in line with his training and local and national guidance." The prosecution described his conduct as falling "far below the standard expected" and showing a "wholesale disregard" for safety. Defence counsel characterised any lapse as "momentary." The jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts on 4 February 2026.

IOPC Director Emily Barry, whose organisation investigated the case following a mandatory referral from Northumbria Police, said that while driving guidance permits officers to pass red lights and exceed speed limits when necessary, "it is never justified if the officer's manner of driving endangers other road users." CPS Specialist Prosecutor Gavin Hotchkiss called the incident "tragic and avoidable," stating that Roberts "had a duty to drive with due care and attention to the safety of others" even under emergency conditions.

Muriel Pinkney's daughter, Dawn Hunter, attended both trial days and called for Roberts to be spared a custodial sentence, describing the crash as a "tragic accident" with "no winners" in imprisoning him. Judge Francis Laird KC warned after the guilty verdicts that causing death by dangerous driving carries a custodial term and adjourned sentencing to today, 7 April 2026, at Teesside Crown Court. Roberts has been suspended from Northumbria Police since the incident and held under an interim driving ban.

Police roadcraft guidance cited at trial stated that risk-taking, even in a "noble cause," is not justified. Whether that principle now drives concrete changes to how Northumbria Police trains, monitors, and governs emergency response driving will be a measure of what the Pinkneys' case actually changes.