Police officer jailed for causing death of Shante Daniel-Folkes in road collision

A police officer has been jailed after a woman was hit and killed by a patrol car responding to a 999 call.

Shante Daniel-Folkes, 25, died after being struck by a police car that was responding to an emergency call on the southbound A203 Stockwell Road on 9 June 2021. Her injuries were immediately fatal.

PC Nadeem Patel, 28, was behind the wheel of the marked police car which struck Ms Daniel-Folkes, and he previously pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

He was jailed for three years and disqualified from driving for 54 months on 24 February 2023.

PC Gary Thomson, 31, who was driving a marked police car ahead of PC Patel’s vehicle, was today convicted of careless driving by a jury at the Old Bailey following a four-day trial.

Ms Daniel-Folkes was walking across the road around 11.20pm close to a pedestrian crossing when PC Thomson’s vehicle passed her with its emergency lights and siren activated.

Around three to four seconds later, Ms Daniel-Folkes continued to cross and was struck by PC Patel’s vehicle. He had earlier switched off his front emergency lights so to not affect PC Thomson’s vision in the lead vehicle but did have his siren activated.

Although exempt from the 30mph limit, PC Patel reached a peak speed of 83.9mph on Stockwell Road just 115 meters from the car’s final stopping point. The car was travelling around 55mph at the time of the collision after PC Patel braked for two seconds from a speed of more than 81mph.

The vehicle being driven by PC Thomson also passed Ms Daniel-Folkes at speeds between 70-79mph, and the prosecution was able to prove that he also drove at an excessive speed for a significant distance. 

PC Thomson was today fined £500 and awarded five penalty points on his driving licence. 

The prosecutions followed an investigation by the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct). 

Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Shante Daniel-Folkes following this avoidable tragedy.

“Both officers, although not bound by the 30mph speed limit while responding to a 999 call, were driving at motorway speeds in a built-up urban area, with a number of potential hazards in the vicinity.

“These included pedestrians, cyclists, and cars travelling in the other direction, as well as an open convenience store directly at the scene and a nearby pub in which 30-40 customers were present for a quiz night.

“There was an obvious risk of injury to a person from vehicles travelling at that speed in the dark, and both officers fell below the expected standard of a competent and careful driver that evening.

“PC Patel admitted causing the death of Ms Daniel-Folkes by driving dangerously and I hope his sentence, along with today’s verdict for PC Thomson, offers some comfort to her family at this extremely difficult time.”