The family of Surrey Comet features editor June Sampson has called for a new law to deal with drivers who cause serious injury, claiming the car accident that left her fighting for her life was treated "as if she'd been a lamppost".

The veteran journalist, who has worked at the Comet for over 40 years, was hit by a Volkswagen Passat driven by doctor Andrew Breeze outside Kingston Hospital on the evening of November 26, 2013.

She suffered pelvic injuries, broken bones in her legs and a bleed on the brain, initially thought to be life-threatening.

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She spent six months in hospital and has so far been unable to return to her job at the newspaper. Breeze, 40, from West Yorkshire, was given three penalty points on his licence after being found guilty of driving without due care and attention following a one-day trial this week.

Miss Sampson's daughter Anna Dowler, a journalist for the Guardian newspaper, said: "We don't necessarily want draconian punishments for drivers who make genuine mistakes, but we do want the law to recognise the terrible consequences that such mistakes can make.

"Because my mother did not die that night, her injuries, as the law stands, were of no more account than if she'd been a damaged lamp post."

At Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, April 7, an emotional Breeze cried as he gave evidence in the witness box.

He said: "I crouched down beside her and asked her if she could hear me.

"I could see that she was breathing. I felt for a pulse on her neck because she was not responsive. I used the phone in my pocket to call an ambulance.

"It’s been hard to deal with. Every time I approach the crossing I remember what happened.

"It is so upsetting."

 

Breeze also said he had not seen Miss Sampson crossing.

The driver was estimated to have struck Miss Sampson - referred to during the trial by her married name of Mrs Tims - at about 20mph in a 30mph zone.

Phone records showed he had not been using his mobile at the time of the crash.

The court also heard how a Kingston Council contractor failed to replace lights removed from the zebra crossing where Miss Sampson was hit.

Defence counsel Selva Ramasaymy said: "The fact that they were there before the accident suggests that someone identified a need for them.

"They were removed not because they were unnecessary but because water was getting in them and caused them to circuit.

"Mrs Tims was entitled to trust that crossing. Mr Breeze was also entitled to trust that crossing. But it was not up to standard - far from it."

But police constable Jeremy Archer, who investigated the site after the crash, said he believed the crossing was adequately lit at the time.

As well as the three points, Breeze was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £850 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Miss Sampson's family has written to MPs including former Richmond Park and north Kingston representative Zac Goldsmith asking for the law to be amended to include the offence of serious injury caused by careless driving.

Mrs Dowler added: "We've always accepted that the accident was a genuine mistake which has caused Dr Breeze, as well as our family, great suffering.

"But the 18 months we have had to wait for the case to reach court, and the four times it has been postponed, did make us wonder how seriously the justice system takes the offence of careless driving."

Oliver Tims, Miss Sampson's son, said: "Our only wish has been that the terrible accident resulting from Dr Breeze's momentary lack of concentration should be acknowledged by the courts, and this has been achieved."