A Northumbria Police officer has been found guilty of causing death and causing serious injury by dangerous driving following a fatal crash in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. PC Mark Roberts was convicted on 4 February 2026 for the July 2022 collision that killed a 74-year-old passenger and seriously injured her husband.
The crash happened at the junction between the A1 southbound slip road and Dunston Road near the MetroCentre. Roberts was responding to a Grade 1 emergency involving a baby who needed urgent medical assistance and was driving a marked police vehicle. Evidence showed he was travelling at no less than 43mph as he approached the traffic lights on a 30mph road; his speed at the point of impact was estimated at about 25mph.
The officer drove through a traffic light that had been red for six seconds before colliding with a motorcycle. Muriel Pinkney, 74, died in hospital nine days after the collision. Her husband, Ronald Pinkney, suffered a bleed on the brain and multiple fractures to his leg, hip and pelvis.
At Teesside Crown Court, the jury concluded Roberts’ driving was dangerous rather than merely careless. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigated the incident and said a police driving expert found Roberts’ manner of driving was not in line with his training and local and national guidance, noting he failed to treat the red traffic light as a stop or give-way sign.
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Hill of Northumbria Police said the officer’s “standard of driving fell short of what is expected” and offered condolences to the Pinkney family for the devastating outcome. Roberts has been bailed and is due to be sentenced on 7 April 2026.
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