Restorative Justice after an RTA

Dave and Barbara, a husband and wife, had been knocked off their scooter, at a road junction.

Barbara had received injuries which she recovered from but Dave was paralysed from the waist down. This was obviously life changing for both of them but they had each expressed the wish to meet Karen, the driver of the vehicle which hit them. Karen was a young woman who had never been in any kind of trouble before and who carried the weight of the incident with her daily. She was unsure whether she would receive a prison sentence when we first met her and her mum. Their overriding concern was for Dave and Barbara.

At Court, Karen received a suspended sentence, community service and a driving ban. We met with all parties again and then arranged for a Conference to be held in a wheelchair accessible location. Karen’s mum elected to support her but it was clear that she needed this meeting as much as her daughter did. All four discussed the incident and what had happened from each of their perspectives. Dave and Barbara then told Karen that they held her no ill will and that they felt strongly that it was an accident that might have happened to anyone. They did not believe she could have done anything differently. Karen apologised sincerely and made clear her deep regret at the outcome of that day. She told everyone that she is still working and now does her community service on her day off. She was finding her community service a positive experience and was thinking of continuing to volunteer there after her hours were completed.

Dave and Barbara told her about their love of stock car racing and that now Dave could not drive himself, they had bought a car and built a team to keep themselves involved in their old hobby. Everyone agreed that they had been worried about bumping into each other but now would say hello and see how each other was, if they saw each other. As they prepared to leave, Dave opened his arms to Karen and said “come here”. She bent down to him and they hugged each other. She told him again that she was sorry and he told her to live her life and not allow this incident to stop her.