A Reluctant Aristocrat: Assorted Memories of My Unconventional Life - New Chapters

By
Guy Mackenzie

Postscript Part Two - The Big Bang of 2022

My favourite time of year is Spring and I was really looking forward to Spring 2022 as, after all, we seemed to have got though the worst of Covid. So Sally and I could surely look forward to a more peaceful time in our lives. But then came our second Big Bang. And even today, some three years later, questions remain for certain members of Devon & Cornwall Police, which have never been answered.

On 27th May 2022 Sally (who’d been away the previous night visiting a friend in Bristol) and I decided to visit our favourite Indian Restaurant, “The Taj Mahal”, in Penzance. We set off in my car about 7:45pm on the same route from our home, which we’d travelled hundreds of times, to drive to Penzance. We then stopped at the junction from Tresowes onto the A394 to Penzance and waited till it was clear as there was a lot of traffic. I then had driven across that road and was in the process of turning right towards Penzance when there was an almighty bang. It seemed like an Exocet missile had hit us. But it was a car!

The car then hurtled away from us and ricocheted off the Cornish hedge (built of stone and earth) on the left hand side of the A394 partly demolishing it, then ricocheted off the Cornish hedge further up on the right hand side!

The car then rolled over several times (a witness said seven times!) until it became embedded in the Cornish hedge even further up the road – partly facing the way it had come (Penzance)!

In contrast my car was pushed back and partially turned round by the impact. The other car had hit us on the front passenger side even though it was coming from our right!

Sally was, of course, in shock, as I was, but fortunately both of us were physically unhurt. Several cars then stopped and a very kind lady took care of Sally while I looked at our car and realised very quickly that it was a “write off”.

One of the witnesses said later that he saw someone crawl out of the other car in the through the back window. I then walked towards the other car (which I could see in the distance through a cloud of dust) taking pictures as I did so.

But before I reached it I became aware of a strongly built young man in a “T” shirt, apparently (and thankfully) unhurt, come marching down the road towards me.

He immediately said “You pulled out on me” ignoring the fact that my car was actually “out in the road” at the time of the collision (after all, if I’d been in the process of “pulling out” on him, his car would have hit me on the driver’s side, not the passenger side!).

He also told me that he’d bought his car on that day and that it was a BMW M5 Competition worth £100,000 (with a top speed of about 190mph!).

Of course, by now, several vehicles had stopped as the road was blocked. Three different people gave us their contact details and offered to act as witnesses although only one had actually seen the collision. The other two were witnesses to the erratic driving of the BMW when it had overtaken them earlier.

Very soon Fire, Ambulance and the Police, PC Ashley Parkin and PC Lee Mallatratt, attended the scene. The Police took initial statements from all of us. After several hours and having been medically checked, we were all allowed to leave. But Sally and I never got our Indian meal that night although I recall cooking scrambled eggs for our supper…

However the Police stayed until after the vehicles had been removed and the A394 was cleared of debris (cars/stone wall, etc.). The road was shut all night.

The following day I, of course, contacted my insurance company and, in due course, made the necessary accident report to them.

Some days later, PC Parkin, who was tasked with the investigation of the collision, told me that he and PC Mallatratt both expected fatalities when they arrived on the scene and saw the wreckage of the BMW.

He told me that later that night they had carried out speed trials after the road had been cleared. As a result they’d estimated the speed of the BMW at about 140mph when it collided with my Land Rover. PC Parkin also told me that I was not to blame for the collision which was as a result of the excessive speed of the other driver who was “powering up” at such pace that he had no time to react.

PC Parkin confirmed in an email dated 27th August 2022 that “once we have all the statements we will look at interviewing the BMW driver under caution. He will have the choice of being represented by a duty solicitor or one of his choice. Off the back of that an informed decision can be made to see if we have enough evidential material to support a prosecution.”

Both PC Parkin and PC Mallatratt (after he had taken over the investigation) confirmed that the distance it took for the BMW to stop was one hundred and twenty-three metres.

By now we had received written statements from the three witnesses. One stated that the BMW had earlier overtaken him “at a speed well in excess of 50/70mph…” in a 30mph limit! Another, a Mr. Webb, stated that a “black BMW passed me doing 90 to 100 in a 50mph zone” also that he “witnessed the black BMW strike the Land Rover“. I sent these along with the photographs I had taken, to my insurers.

My insurers in due course appointed a Senior Claims Handler (who I will refer to as “Sharon”) to deal with the claim as it was considered to be substantial.

Sharon, who proved to be a very supportive, knowledgeable and determined lady (in fact we exchanged about one hundred and twenty emails and probably had almost as many telephone conversations until the claim was resolved!), then instructed an independent insurance investigator to visit the site and assess the claim.

Following this she rang me to say that she did not believe I was to blame and asked me if I was prepared to go to court, if necessary, to fight the claim – which of course I was! She then asked me to keep her up to date with the Police investigation and also to let her know as soon as I was aware of a Police Report as this could contain crucial evidence.

I recall that it was on the 21st August 2022, that PC Parkin came to my house by appointment and I made and signed a statement. He did the same with one of the witnesses. PC Parkin repeated that he did not consider that I was to blame for the collision which was the result of the excessive speed of the other driver.

On 26th August, I emailed my photographs and the written statements from the three witnesses to PC Parkin. He confirmed receipt of them on 27th August and also that they had been added to the Police file. After a traumatic period, all now seemed set fair for a straightforward insurance claim. What could possibly go wrong?

But then PC Parkin was taken off the investigation, sent on a three month course, and PC Mallatratt took over the investigation.

However, before he left, on 3rd September PC Parkin emailed to say “my learned colleague, PC 1385 Mallatratt, has just departed the Police Station to obtain the statement from Mr. Webb at midday today”.

Then I later discovered that PC Mallatratt didn’t “obtain the statement” and everything changed. Almost inexplicably, I suddenly appeared to become the “villain of the piece”! But why and even today, in 2025, that mystery remains because Devon & Cornwall Police will not answer my questions!