Ex-Derbyshire police detective jailed over fatal crash after ignoring years-old medical advice
Court heard Michael Cooper had been warned in 2009 to stop driving because of unexplained blackouts before the 2021 collision that killed educational psychologist James Bane
A former detective chief inspector who blacked out at the wheel, killing a father-of-two and seriously injuring a woman, had been told to stop driving by a doctor more than a decade earlier, a court has heard.
Michael Cooper, 55, was a serving Derbyshire Constabulary officer when he crashed his unmarked police car, killing educational psychologist James Bane, 50, and throwing a woman into the air, in Egginton Road in Etwall, Derbyshire, on September 28 2021.
Cooper, who was driving a black Peugeot 208 that he “treated as his own personal vehicle”, did not put on his seatbelt while a phone call, which ended seconds before the crash, was made from his iPhone or smartwatch.
The defendant pleaded guilty last week to causing the death of Mr Bane and seriously injuring the woman, who cannot be named because of a court order, by dangerous driving.
Cooper, who did not react in the dock, was jailed for three years and seven months at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.
Cooper told officers after the crash he had not been advised on any “special thing to do” about driving and refused to give access to his medical records.
But the court heard he had been asked by a neurologist in 2009 to stop driving and contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) because he had episodes of randomly collapsing.
Sentencing Cooper, Mr Justice Sweeting told the defendant there was a “callous disregard of potential danger”, adding: “Your guilt lies in the decision to drive at all.”
The judge said: “The risk may have been intermittent and unpredictable, but it was a risk you knew existed.”
Prosecutor Samuel Skinner KC said Cooper was on duty on the day of the collision and had driven the unmarked police car to Etwall Leisure Centre.
Mr Skinner said that when Cooper left the leisure centre in the car, a phone call was made to his girlfriend, without using the vehicle’s hands-free system, which ended five seconds before the crash.
The judge did not sentence Cooper on the basis that he was distracted by his phone.
Cooper almost fully pressed down the accelerator pedal when travelling towards Mr Bane and the woman, who were standing near their parked cars, the court heard.
The woman was sent “flying through the air” when the car hit her at 28mph, causing her injuries and “serious psychiatric harm”, including complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), the prosecutor said.
Mr Skinner continued: “The defendant’s car then deflected off the kerb and shunted the two parked cars into one another.
“Tragically, Mr Bane was standing between them and was crushed.”
Mr Bane, who had two teenage children, died in the road of pelvic injuries, the court heard.
After the collision, Cooper was “confused” and told members of the public that he was a painter and decorator and did not know who the prime minister was.
Mr Skinner added: “We say this – the defendant should not have been behind the wheel of that unmarked police car that day because he had an unexplained medical history of blackouts that occurred without warning.
“Years before this incident, the defendant had been told by a consultant neurologist not to drive and to inform the DVLA about his blackouts.
“But he did not tell the DVLA about the blackouts, nor did he tell his car insurer.”
The court heard that Cooper has still not received an exact diagnosis, but had experienced random losses of consciousness for nearly 20 years before the crash.
The prosecutor said Cooper, from Etwall, was also found to have committed gross misconduct in August 2024 and would have been dismissed from the Derbyshire force had he not already resigned.
Mr Skinner told the court: “The chief constable (of Lincolnshire Police) found that the defendant had treated the unmarked police car as his own personal vehicle, without authorisation, repeatedly during 2021, including on the day of these offences.
“The defendant had carried passengers – non-police passengers – when not authorised, and claimed expenses for fuel for the unmarked car when already receiving an allowance for the use of his own car.”
In a statement read to the court, Mr Bane’s wife, Katherine Bane, said: “He was a thoughtful, dedicated, respected and greatly missed educational psychologist.
“When James was killed, everything I knew was ripped away. Our family unit was torn apart and every single thing about my life changed overnight.”
The woman who was injured wrote in a statement that she experiences “extremely distressing” flashbacks of the crash.
She added: “There has not been a single day since the incident that has been positive.”
Defence barrister Adrian Keeling KC read aloud a letter written by Cooper, which said: “I can’t begin to imagine the unbearable pain and grief following the death of Mr Bane in particular. I’m deeply sorry.”
Cooper will have to take an extended retest if he is deemed medically fit to drive in the future, the court heard.