The family of a City financier who died when an 85-year-old motorist smashed into his stationary car at more than 70mph have called for a ban on elderly drivers having powerful vehicles.
Ivor Forde, 74, was waiting at a roundabout when pensioner Brian Allen drove through a set of red lights in a powerful BMW 340 and ploughed into his car.
Norfolk Coroner’s Court heard how Mr Allen had earlier been seen driving erratically by an off duty police officer in King’s Lynn, Norfolk.
The inquest was told he may have lost control by pressing the accelerator instead of the brake at the Hardwick roundabout on the outskirts of King’s Lynn.
Mr Allen told police in an interview that he did not recall the collision which happened at 2.35pm on April 5, 2023, but remembered Mr Forde’s BMW 330 convertible on its side. Asked if he was to blame, he said: ‘Yes, I suppose so’.
He escaped justice because he died 20 months after the crash at the age of 87 before he could be charged with dangerous driving.
Mr Forde’s widow Mary described her family’s devastation in a moving statement after the inquest, and called for laws to restrict elderly people getting behind the wheel of high speed cars.
She said: ‘My husband, father of four and grandfather to seven grandchildren died in an accident that should not have happened.
‘Whilst stationary, at traffic lights on the Hardwick Roundabout, my husband’s car was hit by an 85-year-old driver travelling at over 70mph in a powerful BMW.
‘My husband died instantly. The driver of the car that killed my husband died recently, 20 months after the accident aged 87, before the CPS had charged him with dangerous driving.
‘We are thankful that the elderly gentleman did not have to endure the stress of a court hearing, but we are disappointed that this case never came to court.
‘We had hoped to highlight the impact that accidents such as my husband’s has on families like ours. It is devastating.
‘For us, three generations have suffered avoidable loss and great sadness because an elderly driver lost control of an unnecessarily powerful car.
‘Families should not be afraid to speak up if it becomes obvious that it is time for a parent or partner to give up driving. Ivo’s death is proof of that.
‘My husband, Ivo Forde, was a wonderful man. He was greatly loved by many people and is dreadfully missed by all of us. Over 400 people attended his thanksgiving service at Burnham Thorpe.
‘For now, we hope that lessons may be learnt and at the very least people could be limited to driving slower, smaller cars once they reach an agreed age.’
Mr Forde of Burnham Overy Staithe, Norfolk, was the brother of Sarah, Countess of Leicester, the former High Sheriff of Norfolk and widow of the late Edward Coke, the 7th Earl of Leicester, of Holkham Hall, who died in 2015.
He was formerly a merchant banker, the marketing director of the London-based investment fund manager Sarasin and also ran a financial PR business.
Norfolk Police crash investigator PC Lee Smart said Mr Forde was approaching the roundabout when Mr Allen ‘harshly accelerated through a red light’.
PC Smart said Mr Allen’s BMW mounted a traffic island before colliding with the side of Mr Forde’s car at a speed of 72mph.
He said officers found no faults with either vehicle which could have contributed to the crash, visibility was good and the road was dry.
Witnesses said Mr Allen stopped briefly at the lights before moving off at speed and swerving to avoid a lorry before hitting Mr Forde’s car which was pushed onto its side.
PC Smart said it was possible Mr Allen had pressed the accelerator by accident instead of the brake.
Tests carried out in hospital, where he was treated for injuries after the accident, revealed no traces of drugs or alcohol in his blood.
The inquest heard Mr Forde died from multiple injuries.
Norfolk area coroner Yvonne Blake told his family that she was not permitted to conclude that he was unlawfully killed.
She said there was ample evidence from CCTV and video of how the accident happened and Mr Allen’s driving.
Mrs Blake added: ‘There’s lots of evidence that his driving was fast, erratic, he didn’t seem to be paying any attention to traffic lights, other drivers, that sort of thing.’
But she said she could not give a conclusion of unlawful killing because that was not legally possible for a road traffic collision.
She explained: ‘I’m not allowed to do it, with the best will in the world.’
After briefly retiring, Mrs Blake gave a narrative conclusion that Mr Forde was driving home around a roundabout when his car was struck by another car at speed after driving through red lights, before he died at the scene from his injuries.
In a statement read out at the inquest, Mrs Forde said they she and her husband of 47 years had ‘an extremely happy marriage’.
She said her husband was not a stereotypical 74-year-old, and was ‘fit and healthy, a keen sailor and sports fanatic’.
He had a defibrillator fitted in 2011 after suffering a cardiac arrest whilst playing tennis but had suffered no issues since, she said.
Mrs Forde said her husband’s car was his pride and joy and he was a good, cautious driver.
On the day of the crash, he was driving home from Watlington station, after catching a train from London where he had been to a meeting.