Cop, 55, who blacked out at wheel killing dad-of-two was ‘told not to drive’ by doctor decade earlier as he’s jailed

A COP who blacked out at the wheel and killed a dad-of-two had been told not to drive by a doctor more than a decade earlier, a court heard. The detective chief inspector ploughed into two people standing beside parked cars – crushing one victim to death and hurling a woman into the air in the smash. Emergency services at the scene of the horror fatal crash Credit: BPM Michael Cooper, 55, who was jailed at Nottingham Crown Court for three years and seven months after a 2021 fatal crash Credit: PA Michael Cooper, 55, was serving for Derbyshire Police when his unmarked patrol car slammed into educational psychologist James Bane, 50, in Etwall, Derbyshire. Nottingham Crown Court heard Cooper had been warned by a consultant neurologist as far back as 2009 to stop driving and tell the DVLA about unexplained blackouts. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Instead, the court heard he continued getting behind the wheel despite suffering random losses of consciousness for almost 20 years. Prosecutors said Cooper drove an unmarked Peugeot 208 he had “treated as his own personal vehicle” on the day of the fatal crash. He was not wearing a seatbelt and had been on a phone call to his girlfriend, made without the car’s hands-free system. The call ended just five seconds before the devastating impact, although the judge did not find he had been distracted by his phone. The court heard Cooper almost fully depressed the accelerator as he drove towards Mr Bane and a woman standing near their parked vehicles. The woman was struck at 28mph and sent “flying through the air”, suffering serious physical injuries and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Most read in The Sun The car then ricocheted off the kerb and shunted two parked vehicles together. Tragically, Mr Bane was standing between them and was crushed. The 50-year-old father-of-two died in the road from catastrophic pelvic injuries. Moments after the collision, Cooper appeared confused and reportedly told members of the public he was a painter and decorator. He also said he did not know who the Prime Minister was, the court heard. Last week, Cooper admitted causing Mr Bane’s death and seriously injuring the woman by dangerous driving. Sentencing him, Mr Justice Sweeting said: “Your guilt lies in the decision to drive at all.” The judge added: “The risk may have been intermittent and unpredictable, but it was a risk you knew existed.” He told Cooper his actions showed a “callous disregard of potential danger”. Cooper, who showed no reaction in the dock, was jailed for three years and seven months. The court heard Cooper initially claimed he had never been advised about any “special thing to do” regarding driving and refused access to his medical records. But prosecutors said he had been repeatedly told to stop driving and notify the DVLA after suffering unexplained collapses. The hearing also heard he never informed either the DVLA or his car insurer about the condition. Prosecutor Samuel Skinner KC said Cooper should never have been behind the wheel that day because of his long history of blackouts. The court also heard Cooper was later found guilty of gross misconduct after treating the unmarked police car as his own. He had allegedly carried unauthorised passengers and wrongly claimed fuel expenses while already receiving a car allowance. In a statement, Mr Bane’s widow Katherine said: “When James was killed, everything I knew was ripped away. “Our family unit was torn apart and every single thing about my life changed overnight.” The injured woman told the court she continues suffering “extremely distressing” flashbacks. She said: “There has not been a single day since the incident that has been positive.” In a letter read by his barrister, Cooper said: “I can’t begin to imagine the unbearable pain and grief following the death of Mr Bane in particular. “I’m deeply sorry.” Following the sentence, the Independent Office for Police Conduct said Cooper had consciously chosen to drive despite his condition and had now been held accountable for his actions.