The Duke of Edinburgh In Car Accident at Sandringham: January 17, 2019

[Lilyflo]

Re: the TV appearance

She's now becoming a car crash herself. What a mess.

 

[Lumutqueen]

She's now becoming a car crash herself. What a mess.

A very very apt description. Has ignored all attempts to be contacted by police and palace, but then goes on National television to talk about her situation.

Has it been said what she does? Because she’s off sick apparently (where her money woes are coming from) yet she can quite easily get the ITV Studios got an interview.

 

[Muhler]

Re: the TV appearance

She's now becoming a car crash herself. What a mess.

Yes, now the indicator begins to swing from innocent victim - to - exploiting the situation.

Oh, well, perhaps the money she gets out of this will help cushion the fact that she will not earn an income for the next couple of months and is likely to lose her new job as well.
In a couple of weeks she will be forgotten.
So will this accident, Britain has much bigger things to worry about.

BTW how does the system work in Britain, if you are on sick leave very shortly after getting a new job, do you get compensation?

 

[Dman]

Miss. Fairweather need to get her butt off of tv and get home so she can take the calls from the police. Why is that the media can get in contact with her, but Sandringham and the police can’t?

 

[Osipi]

One mistake this woman may have made is disregarding the advice to not talk to anyone about the accident. Especially before she's given a statement as a witness to the police.

I get that this woman is emotionally upset right now and hurting from her injuries but its possible that all the talking that she's done is going to work against her in the long run. I hope she has her story straight when she gives her statement and supports anything she may have said on TV and to the media. If not, there's plenty out there now that could prove contradictory to her statement. One contradiction anywhere could render her statement as unreliable.

 

[ACO]

So can't talk to the police but she can talk to the press? I do think Prince Philip's actions after the accident were a bit tone deaf but this woman is also clearly cashing in because she hurt and likely an opportunist. Either way it is a mess from all sides.

 

[Muhler]

I think the passenger will be fairly safe in getting a compensation. The question is just what insurance company is going to pay.
As a passenger she obviously made no difference in this accident.

The driver of the other car is clearly playing safe and keeping her mouth shut.
Perhaps she is more experienced in this?
She is more rational in the situation?
She has more support to help and keep her safe from mistakes at home?
Whatever...

 

[wbenson]

I feel badly for her, even if her choices of the last few days have not been the best. The British press is very good at luring unsuspecting people in so that they can be built up and then torn back down. She seems to be following that arc now. I don't think the next few days are going to be very pleasant for her, especially if some reporter digs up some irrelevant foible from her personal life.

 

[Lilyflo]

Yes, now the indicator begins to swing from innocent victim - to - exploiting the situation.

Oh, well, perhaps the money she gets out of this will help cushion the fact that she will not earn an income for the next couple of months and is likely to lose her new job as well.
In a couple of weeks she will be forgotten.
So will this accident, Britain has much bigger things to worry about.

BTW how does the system work in Britain, if you are on sick leave very shortly after getting a new job, do you get compensation?

I still think she's an innocent victim & she's clearly confused about all sorts of legal aspects eg she says she's heard that the royals don't have insurance so she's worried that she's been injured by an uninsured party. She's annoyed that the DoE was "whisked away" quickly while she had to wait 2 hours for adequate pain relief. She's worried about whether she'll need surgery on her arm. As I said before, she's vulnerable & making poor decisions.

Whether she's exploiting the situation, I don't know. Maybe she likes the attention & limelight. Maybe she's hoping for financial compensation (I'm fairly sure she's entitled to it). If she lives on a tight budget, she might be very worried about her immediate needs, which is adding to her stress.

I don't know what sort of sick pay she'd be getting in a new job & she might not know either. She comes across to me as somebody who's floundering in her anger & worry, while revelling in the media attention. Like a say, a car crash & the whole situation is a mess.

 

[Dman]

It is a big mess. I too understand this is a stressful and painful time, but, she need to be home so the police can take her statement tomorrow. Yes, she better make sure her side of the story matches what she said on tv and papers. I assume they’ll be talking Prince Philip’s statement too or already done so.

 

[wbenson]

I assume they’ll be talking Prince Philip’s statement too or already done so.

Since he wasn't injured enough to require immediate medical attention, I'd assume they took it at the scene.

 

[Rudolph]

Why is that the media can get in contact with her, but Sandringham and the police can’t?

Because the media pay for interviews. Funny what a little money can do.

 

[ACO]

I feel badly for her, even if her choices of the last few days have not been the best. The British press is very good at luring unsuspecting people in so that they can be built up and then torn back down. She seems to be following that arc now. I don't think the next few days are going to be very pleasant for her, especially if some reporter digs up some irrelevant foible from her personal life.

The narrative will definitely shift soon and it will be all about discrediting her. I felt somewhat bad for her until her little media circus begin. Now whatever happens to her will be her own fault.

This also just goes to show how hard it is to control people. A nice reminder that even the most senior of royals can't shut anyone up like that despite the claims.

 

[Dman]

Since he wasn't injured enough to require immediate medical attention, I'd assume they took it at the scene.

Well, how much can he tell them when he just emerged from the crash “shaken and shocked?” I would think it’s best to take a statement once one have the time to properly reflect about what happened?

Because the media pay for interviews. Funny what a little money can do.

Well, not all media issue payment for interviews. Although, that can be the case too. I think this lady isn’t well advised about what she she should be doing. She better be careful when it comes to legal matters from this crash. The legal system will chew you up and spit you out faster than can you say, “1, 2, 3.”

 

[Osipi]

Nowhere is there mention of the driver of the car. No TV, no media, nothing. That's the way it all should have remained. The woman driving was the mother of the child that could have been hurt seriously, did hurt her knee in the crash but has remained silent since. Nothing publicly said from Philip either outside of what witnesses heard at the crash site.

It'll be interesting once the investigation closes and the details made public. I'll leave the blame game and the responsibility charging to those that handle these kind of things.

Well, how much can he tell them when he just emerged from the crash “shaken and shocked?” I would think it’s best to take a statement once one have the time to properly reflect about what happened?

We do know that the police were able to get in touch with Philip when he was photographed driving after the crash without a seat belt and given a warning. That tells me he's available to talk to whomever from law enforcement that needs to talk to him. He didn't fill the moat with flesh eating cassowaries and lower the portcullis and heave up the drawbridge. I'm inclined to believe that he's already sat down with LEOs and gave his statement.

 

[wbenson]

Well, how much can he tell them when he just emerged from the crash “shaken and shocked?” I would think it’s best to take a statement once one have the time to properly reflect about what happened?

I could be wrong, but I don't think this type of minor incident normally warrants multiple days of investigation, except when someone is unavailable due to having been injured. This isn't the crime of the century with forensic investigators piecing together the debris.

 

[shopgirl44]

The passenger said in her interview they saw the Land Rover coming out of the junction some 150 yards away. Shouldn’t they be braking when they saw it pulling out? How can the Kia over turn a heavy armoured Land Rover? This woman better make sure she’s not saying anything inconsistent on her different media interviews or she might ruin her friend’s insurance claims.

Not sure how it is the the UK? Shouldn’t both parties be advised not to communicate privately and insurance companies are the ones who does all the sorting?

 

[Britters]

Agree, it is absurd for the queen and Philip not to wear seatbelts. It's a safety measure not a nice add on that normal people have to do because the lawmakers liked to make their lives more difficult. The law should apply to all.

But... normally airbags only work if a seat belt is worn, so how can Philip's car have employed the airbag if he wasn't wearing a seat belt?

This depends on the vehicle make, as well as source of impact. In many head on collisions, the driver side airbag will deploy no matter what, as it's assumed someone is driving the vehicle. And many newer vehicles (within the last decade), the airbags rely on weight sensors in seats. So even without a seat belt locked, it is entirely possible for an airbag to deploy.

I'd have to do some research on the Land Rover brand to discover which techniques they implement.

I do believe the media in GB is making this worse at this point. Aside from being pictured driving sans seat belt, they're not doing anything I wouldn't expect following an auto collision.

The first rule in auto collisions has always been, don't admit fault, let insurance figure it out. An apology on the scene would be an admission of guilt. But furthermore, I've been in an accident similar to these two ladies, I would never expect the driver of the other vehicle, famous or not, to call me personally to apologize. It's an unrealistic expectation in my opinion. And the article I read the woman kept hoping for them to call or send her flowers...it seems like a ploy to stretch things out and garner some "fame"...

 

[Somebody]

I do feel sorry for Ms. Fairweather. It seems she has had a rough time of it before the crash happened. However, the impression I got from her interview was that:

1) her lawyer is probably mad at her for talking, especially if her statements about how fast the driver was going and the weather conditions can be contradicted by evidence
2) her lawyer told her that she doesn't have a strong enough case, which is why she accepted payment for the interview.

Do normal people (like you and me) have lawyers?

Or did she seek legal counsel after the accident? And if so, why? Wouldn't insurance companies normally arrange all of this, so no lawyer involved/needed?

 

[Madame Verseau]

The sharks are coming for the chum

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...nt-happened-royal-protection-officer-him.html

 

[Dman]

The sharks are coming for the chum

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...nt-happened-royal-protection-officer-him.html

Some of this, Philip, brought on himself. He needs some tough love.

 

[Somebody]

The passenger said in her interview they saw the Land Rover coming out of the junction some 150 yards away. Shouldn’t they be braking when they saw it pulling out? How can the Kia over turn a heavy armoured Land Rover? This woman better make sure she’s not saying anything inconsistent on her different media interviews or she might ruin her friend’s insurance claims.

Even if the car was driving 60 miles an hour; 150 yards should be enough to break and not hit the other car. However, I seem to recall that they had not expected him to pull up. I am sure all of this will be taken into account in the investigation (that will most likely be executed more thoroughly than normally because his royal highness is involved).

 

[Osipi]

Two things the Fail gets wrong. At least the major ones I've noticed.

1. They list Emma Fairchild, 46 as the baby's mother. Wrong. She was the passenger in the car. It states that the family of Ellie Townsend have said that they're not blaming the DoE at all and just getting through it. Emma's the one making all the noise.

2. Philip *was* spotted driving without a seat belt after the accident but they fail to say *where* Philip was spotted at. If Philip was on Sandringham private roads, he can go beltless to his heart's content. If he's on public roads *at all*, he faces the same penalties for not buckling up as anyone would.

As for Wharfe and Arbiter, everyone's coming out of the woodwork with their two cents worth that really don't amount to a hill of beans in the long run. They make some good points though.

I'm just surprised there haven't been any satirical cartoons printed yet about all of this.

 

[Dalriada]

The interview on national TV today revealed that the injured passenger hasn’t been spoken to by the police nor contacted to give a witness statement.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/...sion-with-duke-says-injured-mum-a4044601.html

 

[Osipi]

They apparently couldn't get a hold of her at all over the weekend but will take her statement tomorrow. This gets weirder by the minute.

 

[Lilyflo]

Two things the Fail gets wrong. At least the major ones I've noticed.
(...)
2. Philip *was* spotted driving without a seat belt after the accident but they fail to say *where* Philip was spotted at. If Philip was on Sandringham private roads, he can go beltless to his heart's content. If he's on public roads *at all*, he faces the same penalties for not buckling up as anyone would.

To be fair they did publish 2 maps showing exactly the places he was photographed without a seat belt & both places were on public roads.

 

[Osipi]

OK. Thanks. I must have somehow missed that. If he continues on public roads without a seat belt, they'll be looking out for him and pull him over. He's been warned.

Stubborn is a stubborn does but seat belts *do* save lives.

 

[tommy100]

I completely get that Philip hasn’t done well in the last few days- driving without a seatbelt was ridiculous but this woman going on and on... she keeps harping on about how the royals haven’t been in touch but has ignored police calls herself, showing it is easy to miss calls from people, and hasn’t even been able to give them a statement but has been able to tour tv studios and give interviews (all whilst off work because she is so injured). She is clearly now trying to get fame and money out of a bad situation. I find it odd for the passenger in the car to keep going on yet the other driver has stayed (wisely) silent and said she doesn't blame Philip and just wants to get better.

Accidents happen- thats why we have insurance and airbags etc. We all hope they don’t but sadly they do, and they are just that- accidents. I assume this woman has never had an accident ever in her life - in a car or elsewhere.

 

[MaiaMia_53]

It is so difficult to get an elderly person to surrender the car keys!
It's like they consider it giving up on life, or something.

So true. For some elderly, they consider it as family members or authorities trying to take their independence away.

 

[Jacknch]

Please note that posts discussing the Queen and passports have been moved to the http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f161/diplomatic-passports-of-the-royals-37682.html thread.