1^st April 2008

Son of Midlands millionaire found guilty of dangerous driving

 The son of a millionaire Midlands couple has been found guilty of dangerous driving at the Birmingham Crown Court following a three car accident which left a baby fighting for her life. Antonio Singh Boparan pleaded not guilty but was today convicted of dangerous driving after a five day jury trial. He will be sentenced in a month’s time. After the verdict members of the jury wept after being shown photographs of the baby which had been hidden from them during the trial.

In November 2006, Boparan, of Roman Road, Little Aston, had been driving in Streetly Lane, Sutton Coldfield at speeds in excess of 70 mph. Boparan was driving his mother’s high powered Range Rover Sport when he collided with another vehicle, injuring six people.

The jury was told how Boparan, who passed his driving test just six months prior to the incident, sped down Streetly Lane overtaking an unidentified car before reaching the junction with Crown Lane where witness Eileen Fluckiger was waiting to emerge. Ms Fluckiger testified at trial that when she pulled out, Boparan’s car was a safe distance away, however, after completing her turn she realised the Range Rover was overtaking her.

A second witness, Katie Durbar, had to brake her Mini to avoid Boparan as he overtook a vehicle and pulled back in front of her. She told the court she knew there would be an accident because the Range Rover was wobbling and seemed out of control. Both women then saw the vehicle collide head-on with a Jeep driven by Tracy Edwards, who had her husband Gareth and baby Cerys as passengers.

Cerys Edwards, then aged one, was strapped into a child seat in the rear of the Jeep and suffered the most catastrophic injuries of those involved in the crash. She has been left brain damaged, paralysed and unable to breathe without a ventilator. She remained in hospital and for the last 9 months has been receiving specialist rehabilitation treatment in Surrey. Her parents also sustained serious injuries.

Following the verdict Gareth Edwards said: “We weren’t allowed to tell the jury how this man has destroyed ours and Cerys’ lives. The law protects him in case the jury is influenced by knowing what he did to our daughter. Whatever sentence he receives will be inadequate because the law only recognises causing death by dangerous driving as serious. Cerys has survived and the doctors describe that as a miracle, but she can only do so with artificial breathing. I believe the maximum sentence of two years is absurdly lenient for what he did.”

The family’s solicitor, Richard Langton of Russell Jones & Walker, commented: “If he had killed Cerys outright he would be facing a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment. Boparan’s insurers have added insult to injury by refusing to fund the purchase and adaption of a suitable property for Cerys, Tracy and Gareth to live in. We will be going to court in the next few weeks to ask for an interim payment of £1 million for Cerys so that she can return home to Sutton Coldfield and live with her family. It is going to cost a fortune to look after her. She is going to need special housing and aids and equipment as well as round the clock nursing care for the rest of her life. It is the family in this instance who face a life sentence.”

Judge Frank Chapman, the Recorder of Birmigham granted bail to Boparan on condition that his father provides a £1 million surety and that he surrender his passport, start an immediate disqualification from driving, and observe a night-time curfew. He told the defendant he would face a prison sentence towards the top end of the 2 year maximum allowed.

The defendant’s parents Baljinder and Ranjit Boparan own the West Bromwich based Two Sisters Food Group, which owns the Buxted chicken brand. They were recently placed sixth in the regions’ Rich List of entrepreneurs with a £130 million fortune based on business with an annual turnover of £100 million, supplying chicken products to Tesco and Marks & Spencer.

24^th April 2008

Dangerous driver sentenced for car crash which left Midlands toddler disabled

Antonio Boparan, the first driver to be convicted of dangerous driving using evidence from his own car, has today been sentenced to 21 months imprisonment at Birmingham Crown Court. Boparan age 21 was found guilty of dangerous driving on April 1st following a three car accident which left a toddler fighting for her life and permanently disabled.

Whilst driving his mother’s Range Rover Sport in excess of 70 mph in a 30 mph residential road in Sutton Coldfield, Boparan crashed head on into another vehicle. One year old Cerys Edwards was a passenger in this car and as a result of the collision sustained catastrophic injuries that left her severely brain damaged, paralysed, and dependent on a ventilator to keep her alive.

For the first time at a criminal trial in the UK, crucial evidence was gathered from a “black box” device within the car. This device, linked to the airbag firing mechanism contained in Boparan’s Range Rover, recorded the first 200 milliseconds of the crash. Data gathered from this device, which showed a 42mph loss of speed in the first one fifth of a second at impact, coupled with the movement of the Edwards vehicle, which was shunted 17 metres from the collision, showed that the pre-impact speed was approximately 72mph – dangerously over the speed limit. 

Considering the verdict, Gareth Edwards, father of injured toddler Cerys, said: “We are pleased that he has been convicted but strongly feel that the maximum two year sentence should have been imposed. Even this would be inadequate considering what has happened to our daughter. Cerys could not survive without her ventilator, so in our opinion he should have been facing up to 14 years, the same penalty as causing death by dangerous driving.”

The Edwards’ solicitor Richard Langton of Russell Jones & Walker commented: “Boparan will automatically become eligible for parole after he has served half his sentence. What most people don’t realise is that he will also be considered for something called Home Detention Curfew release, with tagging for the last 135 days of his reduced sentence. So what looks like nearly two years punishment now could actually be as little as 30 weeks. The family know that nothing can turn back the clock, but they feel let down by a criminal justice system with inadequate sentencing and secretive discounts that undermine the punishment and act as no deterrent. He could easily be out by Christmas.”

Cerys Edwards and her mother Tracey have been resident at the Children’s Trust in Surrey since last June, the only rehabilitation centre that can provide for Cerys’ needs.

“We were supposed to be here for 12 months, but Antonio Boparan’s insurers have refused to pay for a house and adaptations so that Cerys can come home. Our solicitors have issued an application in the High Court for a £1 million interim payment to force the issue but until that is resolved I’m imprisoned here, more than a hundred miles from home, separated from both sets of family and all our friends and seeing Gareth only at weekends”. says Tracey Edwards.

Richard Langton concluded: “Cerys’ life expectation is impossible to predict, so the insurers have claimed that they may be paying out too much should she die in the near future.  But why should Cerys and her family move into makeshift rented property through lack of funds, especially considering that should they lose Cerys, the insurers could claim a refund? It could now take the Edwards’ months to find and adapt a suitable house; sadly we could see Mr Boparan return home before Cerys.”