Would you know what to do if you witnessed or were part of a fatal road accident? This interview with Harry Tangye will tell you about his experiences of dealing with such situations.

ConsultingCops (CC) - Hi Harry, can you please tell me what rank you finished your career at and what force you worked for?

PS Harry Tangye (HT) - Police Sergeant – Devon and Cornwall Police.

CC - I understand you were in a position that meant you were often the first at scene for fatal road traffic accidents. Can you explain about that role please?

HT - Yes, I would be informed of what could be a serious or fatal road traffic collision and would immediately make my way, sometimes, from some considerable distance away but the high-performance vehicles tended to make short shrift of it. Whilst en route, I’d try to get an accurate update on the casualties’ conditions and coordinate the right units towards the scene ensuring that Highways were aware to organise early diversions and, if confirmed fatal, ensure a family liaison officer had been informed and was attending. Getting these things organised en route whilst driving at 130mph could save an hour of a scene not having diversions set up causing huge inconvenience to motorists and more importantly ensure relatives were informed at the earliest opportunity. It’s important for me to consider those who attended the scene such as PCSO’s or local officers who may not have the supervisors to monitor them straight after, so I would review the log at the end of the shift to see which units had attended just to make sure they were okay or had some support, especially if it were a particularly nasty incident. Once at the scene, it was my role to firstly, keep calm, get a grip, co-ordinate it and to preserve life and any evidence before beginning the long investigation.

CC - I’m sure our readers would like to know what it is like to turn up at the scene of a fatal road traffic accident and how you even know where to start with regards to dealing with the incident. Can you give us an insight please?

HT - It can be a little daunting to be honest, especially if you know you are going to be the first one there, and that you have a least one dead and another badly injured, or even more taxing if you have more injured. You need to be able to stand back a bit and coordinate the scene, however, any immediate life-saving intervention must not be delayed either. I would try to get a picture of the incident in my mind whilst en route. If it’s quite an isolated location a local rural unit may have attended already and is able to give quite an accurate update. 

If the casualties are already on the way to the hospital, I would ensure another Traffic or ARV unit was attending the hospital to obtain the latest condition, collate their details and to ensure next of kin are informed but to also ensure any blood samples were taken for alcohol and drugs tests which can take some time.  

Considerable speeds would be achieved on motorways and dual carriageways often in the region of 130mph plus when safe to do so, and it could take some time at high speed across country ensuring each overtake was safe, whilst coordinating what was going on at the scene and ensuring the right people were attending. It can often be a bit confusing when you get to a scene, especially if the first one there. Someone, often in shock, usually runs up to you and begins telling you what they think has happened, and who is injured. It’s ideal if an officer has already assessed the scene as I can get an accurate summary from them. If other officers have got there first, I would politely remind them to obtain registrations and potentially phone numbers of members of public. Many witnesses assume there are lots of witnesses and they won’t be required, but others think as they didn’t actually see the collision, they won’t be required so they don’t call in, but they can often tell us if they saw the driving behaviour of the vehicle before the collision, for example a risky overtake, even if it were a mile prior. What’s just as important is if witnesses can tell us if they had been driving perfectly sensibly for the past few miles. Once they have left the scene, we have lost them forever if their details haven’t been taken and, in an area of tourism, they may miss any witness appeals on the local radio, so it’s incredibly important officers attending obtain these scant details before they leave.

It's the simple things like coming up with a plan before I get there. Ensuring I know exactly where I’m going to put the car to protect the scene and myself. If I know there is a badly injured person and I am the first one there, I need to ensure I have the substantial first aid kit out of the car and with me, quickly assess who needs emergency treatment if they do and if all is under control, ensure other emergency services have easy access. Someone’s health and any danger on the scene, such as spilt fuel or people trapped takes priority. I have preserving evidence in my mind but if the fire engine needs to park on the spot I rather they didn’t to preserve a tyre mark, then so be it. They take priority.

CC - What training did you receive to be entrusted with investigating Fatal Road Traffic Accidents?

HT - Officers will join the traffic department, otherwise known as Roads Policing once they have some experience in general policing. The same goes for The Armed Response Unit (ARV) which is a dual-role with Traffic in some Forces. They will have to undergo Traffic law courses, which I personally found tough as there is a lot of number crunching involving weights and measures, HGV’s and complicated legislation which can send me to sleep if I’m honest, but some officers thrive on it! I was more into the scene management side. They will have to have passed their standard driving course, and their advanced driving courses, both 4 to 5 weeks a piece, then their pursuit and then the TPAC (Tactical pursuit and containment). The ARV officers will have to pass a 13-week firearms course on top of that. I refer to the whole thing as playing a game of snakes and ladders. One fail and you lose the lot. All the way back to the beginning but the chances are you won’t get another chance. It can be hugely stressful.

CC - Can you explain the process of the investigation once everything has been dealt with at the scene?

HT - After the initial scene management, with the Scenes of Crime, the Collision Investigator, vehicle examiner, family liaison officers and the scene has been cleared, as the lead investigating officer I would have a debrief with as many of those who attended to establish the order of events, what witnesses had been collated, and what those who had already spoken could provide. The family liaison officer and those officers who attended the hospital would say what they had found out on who the injured persons or deceased were, who their next of kin were, whether bloods were successfully taken, and at this point, the investigation should be providing a picture of what they call the initial hypothesis. Was the collision contributed to by just bad driving, or weather, the road surface or design, fatigue, distraction within the vehicle out outside, suicide attempt or even murder. Yes, we will investigate every avenue and take nothing for granted. Mobile phones will be downloaded for the specific time span to see if it was being used to receive a call, or to make one or whether it was being used for something else. The vehicle would be examined to ensure that poor mechanical work hadn’t caused it or even, whether it had been tampered with.

CC - In your career how many fatal road accidents did you deal with?

HT - I stopped counting after 150.

CC - Is there any one particular accident that you have strong feelings about?

HT - There were a couple. One involving a child of 6 years old. I had twins who were 6 years old. The family liaison officer had a child who was 6, and the officer who was first on scene and who administered CPR to what was very obviously a lost cause, had a niece who was 6 years old. He did all this whilst the boy’s parents and 11-year-old brother held hands looking on. You couldn’t make it up. I told the officer who was first on the scene carrying out CPR that I was not going to choose him as officer in the case, (OIC) as I could see it had deeply affected him. His reply was determined and left me with no choice, “Sarge, I am taking this one on as officer in the case, and you aren’t taking it from me.” I attended the post mortem of that little boy. The respect and gentle manner in which those mortuary staff handled his little body will stay with me forever along with the looks on the faces of the parents and his brother.

The other was a double fatal early on a sunny morning outside Exeter. The 21-year-old female passenger had a fatal head injury whilst I was trying to save the life of the driver who was dying in front of me. Cars were driving by whilst I spoke to him and tried to comfort him, even though I knew there was very little chance he would survive. I was single crewed and first on the scene and used medical equipment to clear the blood from his airway whilst I waited for an ambulance but it was relentless. He died very soon after.  

CC - I understand you have written a book about your experiences during the police. Can you tell me about it and what it is called?

HT - My father had me when he was 60 years old so I had the unusual situation where my friend’s parents were plumbers and builders and yet my dad had been a spy and a spitfire pilot. He wrote books in his retirement, one of which was his autobiography which was incredible to have as a record for me. I learned so much about him after he died when I was just 18 years old. I realised when I met up with my friends from the police, we would talk about those jobs we went to. Those funny ones, serious ones, sad ones, those where we were fortunate to make it, those which taught us something about people, so I decided to write a book like my father to highlight these accounts that I personally went through. I also talked about my child hood of making pipe bombs on the Cornish cliffs when I was 12, and my visits to casualty saying I’d fallen off my bike! Because of this, the first chapter is predictably named, ‘Breaching the Terrorism Act’. I was only writing it for my two children who are in their early 20’s as I am sure they have no idea of what I actually did in my life. Like most kids, they couldn’t be less interested but I thought they may read it one day or one day, their future children may do so. My mother encouraged me to give it to her frighteningly intelligent friends to read and they said I would be crazy not to publish it. I self-published ‘Firearms and Fatals’ (referencing ARV and Traffic in the title) and it became an amazon #1 best seller.

I’ve since written a novel which I confess is mostly all true called ‘The Cornish Scoop’ and I am in the process of writing another. It helps me stay slightly sane whilst I grab a break from looking after my mother with dementia in Newquay, Cornwall. It’s a difficult but very fulfilling existence.

CC - Is there anything else you would like to add about dealing with Fatal Road Accidents?

HT - Why did I do it? I got some achievement by helping families find closure. That the police had cared and had found out what had happened and done all they could to do so. That is incredibly important. I didn’t mind getting a bit cold and wet now and then, I like the urgency and maybe a little danger, and of course I loved the fast cars and guns!