M5 death crash probe decision imminent (From This is The West Country)

M5 death crash probe decision imminent

3:30pm Friday 31st August 2012 in Somerset By Phil Hill

An aerial shot of the scene.

A DECISION on whether to prosecute anyone for one of the country’s worst-ever motorway accidents is imminent.

Police have completed their investigations into the 34-vehicle pile-up that claimed seven lives and left 51 injured.

Crown Prosecution Service lawyers are considering the evidence before deciding whether to take any legal action.

Police have confirmed that officers have concluded their report into the tragedy near Junction 25 at Taunton on Friday, November 4, last year.

They spent months interviewing survivors and witnesses, including committee members from nearby Taunton Rugby Club, which held a fireworks display that evening.

A CPS spokesman said: “We’re currently reviewing a file handed to us by Avon and Somerset Police. We have not yet reached a decision as to whether or not any prosecutions would be appropriate.”

A rugby club spokesman declined to comment.

A permanent memorial to those killed in the crash will be set up at Hankridge Nature Reserve adjacent to the crash site.

Organisers of a charity fund, which raised £6,000 from events and donations, are providing a piece of artwork and seven benches in memory of the dead.

You can still donate – visit any HSBC and pay into the M5 Memorial Fund, sort code 40-46-05, account number 01246860.

Tonia White, from Taunton, whose parents, Anthony and Pamela Adams, died in the accident, said: “It’s somewhere where we can go and sit and reflect.

“I’ll be visiting it on my way home from work in McDonald’s, which is close by.”

A memorial concert is being held at the Brewhouse theatre, Taunton, at 2pm on Sunday, November 4, hosted by the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service Band.

A silent auction beforehand will raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity, which enhances the quality of life for serving and retired personnel and their families, and Somerset Accident Voluntary Emergency Service (SAVES), a group of doctors who support the ambulance service.