Monday 20th October 03
Discussion
ananova said:
Ananova:
'Speeding' ambulance driver has charge dropped
A charge of speeding against an ambulance driver who was delivering a liver for a transplant patient has been dropped.
Mike Ferguson, from West Yorkshire, had been due to appear in court next week after being charged with speeding earlier this year.
He was stopped by police as he drove at 104mph down the A1 in Lincolnshire in January delivering a donor liver from St James's Hospital in Leeds to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
Mr Ferguson's union, the GMB, says the Crown Prosecution Service has decided the prosecution is not in the public interest.
Mr Ferguson, 56, who faced losing his job if he had been prosecuted, said he was overjoyed at the news.
Gary Baker, the union's regional officer, said: "The GMB is very pleased that the CPS has finally seen sense and decided not to prosecute. The only good thing to come out of this absurd situation is in highlighting that the law needs to be updated to keep up with medical advances like transplants."
Mr Baker added the union would continue its campaign to get the Government to review the law to avoid similar cases happening in the future.
Earlier this week, Mr Ferguson travelled to Downing Street to hand in a petition signed by more than 18,000 people supporting his case. He has an unblemished employment record stretching back 36 years and has a clean driving licence.
Mr Ferguson, of Birkenshaw, near Bradford, said he was looking forward to seeing a copy of the letter from the CPS confirming that the case had been dropped.
"I am ecstatic, but the fight does not stop here. I am going to continue campaigning to clarify the law so that other emergency service drivers don't have to suffer the same experience. This is only the first half over with, what we need to achieve now is a review of the law," he added.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff