Louis Thorold: Parents post last image of 5-month-old who passed away after slammed into stroller
The van driver, Shelagh Robertson, 75, was accused with the toddler’s death but ultimately cleared of all charges due to insanity brought on by “undiagnosed dementia.”
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND:
Despite a court decision that the elderly who caused the death was suffering from dementia, the bereaved parents of a five-month-old newborn boy who was murdered after a truck smashed into his pram have maintained their son “was killed by a driver who shouldn’t have been on the road.”
Shelagh Robertson, 75, who had been accused of killing Louis Thorold, was eventually cleared of all charges due to insanity as a result of dementia that had gone untreated. Rachael and Chris, the toddler’s parents, criticized the court’s ruling in a blog post on Friday, August 12. The couple had tried unsuccessfully to conceive for five years before welcoming Thorold through successful IVF.
The parents of the toddler, Shelagh Robertson, wrote on the website for the charity established in her honor, “We will never know why Shelagh Robertson chose to do what she did that day in January.” “We have never heard from Rachael despite the fact that she killed our kid and left him for dead. No sympathy, no message, no regret. Any decent person would have just acknowledged their mistake and made an effort to make amends, “It went on. “It’s disappointing to see that, after 19 months, the legal system in our nation still serves the interests of the perpetrator rather than the victims. The circumstances in this case, including several missed chances for friends and family to stop it happening and a person who disregarded numerous warnings and put herself above others, are quite worrisome “The sentence was read. Added were, “We need impartial experts to make these decisions so they can determine whether we are all safe to drive. To make this possible, legislation and legal structures already exist.” The Thorolds also uploaded a video of their five-month-old baby having fun on his jungle gym while grinning and giggling.
Robertson had dementia, which had gone unnoticed and untreated during the Covid pandemic, according to a jury at Cambridge Crown Court. The 75-year-old was returning home from Tesco in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire on January 22, 2021, when she strayed into the path of an approaching van and crashed. Thorold, who was five months old, was murdered when the van hit the pavement and his mother Rachael was launched into the air. Dashcam video from the van was played for the jury, showing the driver swerving to miss hitting Robertson’s Mazda after making an abrupt turn at a junction. The lady and her baby’s stroller were hit immediately by the van, which was reportedly moving at a slower pace than the posted limit. Shortly after the collision, Addenbrooke’s Hospital declared little Louis dead. Rachael shattered almost every bone on the right side of her body, including her cheekbone, multiple vertebrae, her pelvis, her arm, and her leg. She also had a cracked head. She reportedly spent more than a month drifting in and out of consciousness after being in a coma for 10 days.
Detective Sergeant Mark Dollard from the road policing section issued a statement saying, “This was an extremely unfortunate and sad occurrence and our heartfelt condolences go out to Louis’ family.” “We conducted a comprehensive and exhaustive investigation, but no matter the outcome, Louis will never return, and his family will have to live with that fact for the rest of their life. It serves as a clear reminder, though, of how crucial it is for anyone who sits behind the wheel of a car to be knowledgeable about and capable of operating it properly.” “I would advise anyone who is worried about a family member or friend’s ability to drive to speak up, to share your worries with your loved one or, alternatively, to speak to your GP who can register your concerns to the DVLA,” Dollard continued.
As previously indicated, the Louis Thorold Foundation was founded by the Thorolds in memory of their cherished son with the goal of eradicating child pedestrian deaths by enhancing road safety and requiring drivers over the age of 70 to undergo regular testing, according to the Daily Mail.