The father of a child who died in hospital nine years after being paralysed in a road collision has called for new charges to be brought against the driver of the car which hit his.
Cerys Edwards, who would have been 10 next month, died on Saturday evening at Birmingham children’s hospital. She had been left paralysed in 2006 at 11 months old when Antonio Boparan collided with her parents’ Jeep while overtaking another vehicle at 70mph.
Boparan, then 19, served six months of a 21-month sentence after being found guilty of dangerous driving. Cerys’s father, Gareth Edwards, is calling for fresh charges against him so he can “serve a proper sentence”.
“At the first court case I think the judge said if Cerys died they would be looking at death by dangerous driving in the future,” Edwards told the Sutton Coldfield Observer.
“He only served six months and Cerys has lost her life. She was left on a ventilator after the crash, she caught a virus and that has killed her. She wouldn’t have been in that position if it wasn’t for the crash.”
If Cerys had died in the crash, Boparan would have faced up to 14 years in prison. The impact threw her from her baby seat, breaking her spine.
At the time of the crash, Boparan had been driving a Range Rover owned by his parents, Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan, the owners of the West Bromwich-based 2 Sisters Food Group. The company claims to produce a third of all poultry products eaten in the UK.
Now 28, Boparan is serving a 12-month sentence after pleading guilty to violent disorder and assault over an attack in a nightclub that left a man blind.
After the crash, Cerys was unable to speak and needed round-the-clock care. Paying tribute to his daughter, Edwards told the Birmingham Mail: “Given her injuries, she never complained and was a joy to be with. She was a very happy child who loved life.
“She was a very happy little girl whose cheeky smile would melt the heart of anyone present. She idolised her father, and me her. We had a huge bond and understood each other. She is and will be sadly missed by all who knew her, especially her dad.”
A West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesman said: “Before the Crown Prosecution Service can review this matter, the police will need to provide a further file of evidence in relation to the tragic death of Cerys Edwards in order for us to consider making a charging decision on the more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving.”
Supt Paul Keasey of West Midlands police said: “I am very saddened to hear the news that Cerys Edwards passed away at the weekend.
“I want to express my deepest condolences to Cerys’s family, friends and all those who knew her. My thoughts are with them at this sad time.”
