Policeman cleared over student crash tragedy

Pc Rodney Craig Mills, 42, was driving at nearly twice the speed limit without his lights or sirens on and collided with Jamie Haslett, 19, who ran across the road in front of the car after a night out.

Pc Mills, of Owlthorpe Rise, Mosborough, Sheffield, told the court he was responding to a call he classed as an emergency.

A jury at Bradford Crown Court took four hours to find him not guilty of one count of causing death by dangerous driving.

The week-long trial heard Mr Haslett, who was three times over the drink-drive limit, was returning to his student accommodation in Sheffield at around 3.45am on October 27 and began to run across the road at the junction of Broad Lane and Mappin Street.

The jury was told that one second before the collision, Pc Mills and a colleague were travelling at 58mph in a 30mph zone. PC Mills said he did not see Sheffield Hallam University student Mr Haslett, who was from the Isle of Man, until less than a second before the impact and then tried to brake. Mr Haslett died at the scene.

The commissioner for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said he would discuss with South Yorkshire Police whether any disciplinary proceedings should take place against Pc Mills.

Nicholas Long added in a statement issued after the verdict: “I would like to extend my sympathies again to Jamie’s family and friends.”