Police chief speaks out over drink-drive death crash

A police chief has said he is confident that the force will take on board findings of a review after errors made in a crash investigation.

Julian Waskiewicz, aged 56, died from his injuries after he was struck by a car while walking his dogs in Albrighton in November 2014.

The accident happened on the Shropshire-Staffordshire border and officers from both Staffordshire and West Mercia forces arrived at the scene.

The driver, 63, of Shifnal, had been drinking before the collision and was never prosecuted for any offence.

The subsequent inquiry, which was carried out by the Warwickshire force, described a series of mistakes that hampered the investigation.

These included the failure to carry out the drink-drive 'back calculation' procedure and poor communication between the officers involved. In

a statement, Mr Campion said: "I have discussed this with the force and I am confident that West Mercia Police have taken on board the learning from the review. I will continue to hold the force to account."

However, in a statement, Mr Waskiewicz's family said: "We do not believe that this goes far enough.

"As the errors made during the investigation were so numerous and ultimately prevented justice from being served. We think that a root and branch review of fatal traffic collisions is essential."

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has directed Staffordshire Police to carry out an internal review over the matter after victim's relatives consistently raised concerns over how the initial collision investigation was handled.

Mr Waskiewicz, a former driving instructor of Tettenhall Wood, Wolverhampton, was taken to hospital in a critical condition but died.

He was visiting a relative's property to check on it while they were away when he was struck.