Mum cleared of careless driving charge

A mum's been found not guilty this afternoon (Thursday 3rd March) of causing a car crash that killed her 11-year-old son.

36 year old Karen Evans was leaving the A55 in Northop onto a slip road when her car somersaulted into the air.

The crash last April killed her son Jordan instantly.

The 36 year old now has asked for a review of the way her case was handled by the prosecution service.

Speaking after the verdict at Mold Crown Court, Mrs Evans said that she could not understand why the CPS had persisted with the case, which had clearly added to the heartbreak she and her family had to go through.

"This has been a year of immeasurable pain," said Mrs Evans.

"I have had to nurture my daughters though their recovery from the accident, to recover myself and to endure this prosecution.
All the while I have wrestled with the loss of my son and my part as the driver."

"I am grateful to my family and those close to me who had supported and sustained me."

"I bear no grudge against anyone and can understand why the accident in which my son Jordan died was fully investigated.
But I never understood why the CPS persisted with this prosecution."

"They knew from the police expert that there was a fault in my car's steering and they knew that witnesses saw and heard my car behaving in an abnormal manner immediately before I tried to get it off the dual-carriageway.

"It is now time for me and my family to move on and grieve the loss of Jordan."

The CPS later defended its decision to prosecute.

Nick Price, chief prosecutor for Wales, says:

"We fully respect the verdict reached by the jury. We recognise tha Karen Evans lost her son as a result of the incident and we appreciate the dreadful impact this has had on both her and the rest of Jordan's family."

"We have considered this case very carefully from the outset in the light of those circumstances. However, we believed that the standard of driving demonstrated that day by Karen Evans warranted a prosecution in accordance with CPS national policy for prosecuting cases of bad driving."

"We did not take that decision lightly and in doing so we Very carefully considered both the evidence in the case and the wider public interest in bringing a prosecution."