RAF cadet hit by police car with faulty siren at 13 dies 17 years after accident

Greg Love, from Bournemouth, was just 13 years old when he was hit by a police car on his way home from cadets training. He has now tragically passed away 17 years after the crash

A RAF cadet who was struck by a police car with a faulty siren has died nearly two decades after sustaining the injuries, an inquest has heard.

Greg Love, who was 13 at the time, was hit by the marked police car as it responded to a 999 call in Bournemouth, Dorset. The teen was knocked off his BMX bike and suffered from "catastrophic" brain injuries in 2006. The devastating crash left him in a vegetative state, which saw him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

He also battled with bowel ischemia, epilepsy, scoliosis and pneumonia after the nightmare accident. But 17 years after the tragedy, a CT scan revealed that Greg, aged 31, needed to undergo life-saving bowel surgery. His family made the heartbreaking decision to start the process of palliative care due to what his life would look like after the surgery.

He sadly passed away at his care home in Ferndown, Dorset, on January 3, 2024. The cause of death was bowel ischemia, pneumonia, a traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. Greg had been a pupil at a grammar school in Bournemouth and was cycling home from a cadets class on the night of the collision.

The 13-year-old was wearing his RAF cadet uniform and had an iPod with a headphone in one ear. He was not wearing his safety helmet which was in his rucksack. The accident was investigated by the former Independent Police Complaints Commission which concluded the driver of the police car was not at fault. It was, however, admitted that the vehicle's siren was not in use at the time and that the siren was faulty.

It has previously been claimed that another police unit was already at the scene of the low-level emergency and there was no need for the car to hurry towards it. Inspector Joe Wheable, of Dorset police's roads policing team, said: "A Gatso speed camera caught the police vehicle travelling at 50 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone, but the driver was qualified to drive at up to 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. When he hit Greg he was travelling between 28 and 34 miles per hour.

"The incident happened at around 10:05pm and the weather was fine and the road had good visibility and street lighting. There are no specific guidelines for using lights and sirens. They were using the blue lights on the vehicle but the sirens were defective. He may not have used the sirens even if they had been working." Greg's father Christopher Love attended the inquest in Bournemouth. In a statement he said: "Due to the accident Greg suffered a catastrophic brain injury which left him in a vegetative state. He became incontinent and needed 24 hour care. The injuries left him with severe medical injuries, epilepsy, severe scoliosis and brain trauma.

"The scoliosis was so bad that he could not be in his wheelchair for a long time so he needed help to prevent further curvature. When the bowel illness got worse due to his condition we had to take the hard decision that it would not be in his best interest for the surgery to take place. The complication of the accident and his brain trauma led to his death aged 31."

Dr Salman Heydari, a gastrointestinal surgeon, saw Greg in the days before his death over the bowel condition. He said: "The CT scan showed a bowel obstruction. If he had survived the surgery then his quality of life would have been so poor and he would have been left with scarring to the abdomen. It also seems when he was admitted that he was distressed and the X-Ray showed it was getting worse. We did agree that surgery would not be in his best interest. The traumatic brain injury is a direct impact. The epilepsy is not completely unrelated."

Dr Emma Murphy, who worked as a rehabilitation consultant for Greg from 2021 until his death, said: "We agreed that he would not be resuscitated if he suffered a cardiac arrest and we would meet with a palliative care team. There is a clear link between the accident and his death 16 years later."

The jury at the inquest returned a narrative verdict. They said: "Greg Love was crossing the road when he was hit by a police officer who was driving a car with his lights on but without any sirens. He (Greg) was not wearing a helmet when he was hit and was left with traumatic brain injuries. He later died because of the injuries from the incident that happened on December 5, 2006."

Speaking to Mr Love, Richard Middleton, assistant coroner for Dorset, said: "I offer you my deepest sympathies to you and your family and friends for your sad loss." Afterwards Mr Love said: "We are obviously pleased that it is over and we are pleased that the jury and the coroner found that Greg's death was down to the incident that happened all those years ago." He refused to make any comment about the police involvement in his son's death.