Pearl Black: Parents of girl killed by runaway car 'utterly 
2024-02-23 23:01:04+00:00

The parents of a child killed by a runaway car have told of their
anguish over a "loophole" in the law which means some driving
offences do not apply on private land.

Pearl Black died in 2017 after Andrew Williams failed to properly
apply the handbrake on his Range Rover.

This resulted in the empty vehicle rolling downhill from a driveway
and knocking a wall on to her.

No criminal proceedings have been brought against Mr Williams.

The Merthyr Tydfil family's local MP, Gerald Jones, is trying to get
a law change through Parliament to extend careless and dangerous
driving offences to cover private land next to roads.

The UK government said its thoughts were with Pearl's family, and
that existing laws were always kept under review.

Pearl's father, Paul Black, and brother Ace were also injured. They
had been on their way to the park.

Mr Black, who was a contestant on The Voice, said losing Pearl had
ruined their lives.

"There's no words to describe how some days it makes me feel," he
said.

Pearl's mother, Gemma Black, said her daughter's death "impacts
everything".

"Things you used to look forward to, happy times, are now tinged with
sadness.

"The kids love Christmas and it's great to see them, but it's always
on your mind - there's one missing."

Mr Black said she believed current road traffic laws were not fit for
purpose, describing some as neglectful and in need of "dragging
completely up to date".

The couple said their spirits were lifted when their MP raised their
calls for change with Rishi Sunak during prime minister's questions
in November.

"After all of the years of nothing happening, then all of a sudden
the prime minister's saying Pearl's name on the television," said Ms
Black.

But a promised meeting with ministers has yet to take place.

The Blacks said that while it was too late to make a difference in
their case, they want to see the introduction of Pearl's Law so no-
one else has to go through what they have.

"Hopefully this never happens to anybody again but if it did then
hopefully other families wouldn't be so utterly let down by the
justice system as we have been," said Ms Black.

Mr Black added: "It's a stroke of a pen, for the legacy of such a
beautiful child."

Labour MP Mr Jones is trying to get measures added to the criminal
justice bill going through Parliament to resolve what he said was an
"anomaly".

His proposed amendment, which has cross-party support, would extend
the Road Traffic Act 1988 so that a range of driving offences
covering a road or public place would also apply to private land
adjacent to roads.

"It could be drives, it could be verges, it could be lots of areas
that are adjacent to the highway but not necessarily public highway,"
said Mr Jones.

A CPS spokesperson said: "This was a deeply tragic case and our
thoughts remain with Pearl's family.

"We reviewed the evidence very carefully and considered three
different potential charges, but ultimately we must apply the law and
in this instance there was not enough evidence to bring a prosecution
- a decision which was backed by an internal review of the case."

A legal framework is in place for accidents that take place on
private land.

In such circumstances, a victim may be able to make a civil claim for
compensation.

Prosecutions might also, in some circumstances, be brought under
health and safety legislation and, in extreme cases, for other
criminal law offences such as gross negligence manslaughter.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said: "The government
recognises the impact of dangerous driving wherever it occurs, and we
always keep existing law under review to ensure our communities
remain safe."