Police win bravery award for help at crash that killed mother and three children

A police sergeant has told how nothing could have prepared him for the horror of dealing with a crash that killed a mother and three of her children.

Sgt Mark Lester, who has worked on the front line for the last 15 years, was called to the accident on the A40 in Oxfordshire in October last year.

A young family driving home late at night had crashed head on into a lorry.

Sgt Lester said: “I’ve never been to anything so horrendous, it was harrowing.

"I've been unfortunate in my career that I have had to deal with quite a few children's deaths and I remember them all vividly.

"It took me a good few weeks to get my sleep back, get my routines back, go back on that road, it leaves you just totally devastated really."

"It was a harrowing incident that will stay with me and the team for a long time."

Zoe Powell and her oldest children Phoebe, Simeon and Amelia, aged eight, six and four, all died as a result of the crash.

Her husband Josh and baby Penny survived.

The inquest heard that just seconds before the collision near Wolvercote Mrs Powell had swerved directly into the path of a lorry and the driver had no time to react.

Mark and his team - PC Shaun Nash, PC Helen Rendell, PC Daniel Gunston and PC Charlotte Laxton - were coming to the end of their shift when they received the call to attend.

The officers were told that a baby had been thrown from the vehicle and was injured in the road.

Between them they helped Josh, checked on the lorry driver's welfare, directed road closures, made sure the baby was taken to hospital and stayed with her as she had a CT scan.

Sgt Lest said: "We were first on the scene but it always goes through your mind 'could I have done more?'

"I know I couldn't, but it will always sit there and it is really hard. When you go to jobs like that it really does test you and you think 'can I keep doing this?'"

Mark and has team have now been given a Police Federation Excellence Award for their courageous actions that night.

He says: “Winning the award has come out of the blue, but we’re very honoured. It’s great to get recognition for the team and how well they worked together.

"The team sprang into action, they self-deployed to different roles and didn’t need to be told. My role is to check they’re alright and they don’t need additional support.“Even their smaller tasks, such as putting on road closures, were so important to success in preserving life."

Thames Valley Police Federation Chair Craig O’Leary said: “Sadly sometimes police officers have to deal with the worst but have to put the emotions aside and do what is their job. It can be incredibly difficult.“Everyone worked together to manage the scene and get the baby to hospital as soon as possible. They demonstrated quick thinking and collaboration with the ambulance team in a highly emotional and distressing situation.“We are proud of the work of Shaun, Charlotte, Marc, Daniel and Helen but of course our thoughts remain with the family of those that lost their lives that day.”