« on: June 11, 2008, 06:55:27 PM »
A police car hits and kills a teenager and the 'black box' recording device they are all fitted with mysteriously wasnt working? Am I being overly cynical here?
An aircraft-style "black box" installed in a police car which hit and killed a Newcastle teenager failed to store data from the crash, say investigators.
An electrical fault prevented the device from recording whether the car's siren was switched on, along with other information such as speed.
But the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said the data had been acquired from other sources.
Hayley Adamson, 16, was killed as she crossed Denton Road on 19 May.
She was with a group of friends, the night before she was due to sit her GCSE English exam, when she was hit by the police car.
Northumbria Police have since confirmed that the officer who was driving the vehicle has been suspended from his duties.
IPCC investigators have been trying to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash, but were unable to download data from the vehicle's data recorder.
Spokesman Ian Christon said: "It's not unusual for these devices to initially appear to have not recorded anything. But there is usually something in their back-up area.
"In this case, after sending the recorder away for tests, it was established that an electrical fault prevented the device working properly.
"However, this is nothing more than an irritation. Accident investigators and witnesses have been able to provide us with the information."
Miss Adamson, who lived with her mother in the city's Cedar Road, was buried on Friday at a funeral ceremony attended by hundreds of people.
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The universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements. Energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest.
