Ex-officer to face gross misconduct proceedings over 2021 A14 crash investigation

A former Northamptonshire Police detective will face gross misconduct proceedings over his handling of a fatal crash investigation, the Independent Office for Police Conduct said. Det Con Ady Tredwell is the subject of the proceedings related to the October 2021 crash on the A14 near Northampton, in which 19-year-old Jacob Crawshaw of St Neots, Cambridgeshire, died when the work van he was a passenger in left the road.

During the investigation, the van’s driver was drug tested too late to determine whether impairment contributed to the crash. The IOPC said there was a case to answer for gross misconduct and served papers on Tredwell. The van driver, Christopher Hicks of St Neots, was later convicted of causing death by careless driving after a drug test taken the day after the crash returned positive. Moments before the collision, Jacob texted a friend: “My driver is stoned. Lovely.”

An IOPC review was requested by the Crawshaw family and also highlighted failures in how Northamptonshire Police handled a prior complaint from Jacob’s parents. The watchdog said Northamptonshire Police had initially decided Tredwell did have a case to answer but later did not pursue it because he had been medically retired. Nevertheless, the IOPC concluded that proceedings could still be brought. The IOPC directed the force to examine the actions of Tredwell’s superiors, saying better oversight could have identified issues earlier and potentially prevented some mistakes in the collision investigation. There was also discussion of a potential HMICFRS review into whether Northamptonshire Police had learned lessons from Crawshaw’s death and the 2019 case of Harry Dunn.

Dunn’s death involved a motorcyclist killed when a car driven the wrong way by an American diplomat collided with him outside RAF Croughton; the driver, Anne Sacoolas, was not drug tested and left the scene under diplomatic immunity before pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving at the Old Bailey via videolink. The IOPC review in Crawshaw’s case comes amid ongoing scrutiny of how police investigations are conducted and reviewed in high-profile traffic fatalities.

Jacob’s mother, Tracey Crawshaw, said: “We are living every parent’s worst nightmare.” She added that her family now feels vindicated by the IOPC report and that Jacob deserves justice and accountability. Radd Seiger, an adviser to the family, praised their persistence, saying: “It is shocking to see the failings in Jacob’s case and how poorly the case was investigated, leading to a serious miscarriage of justice. When Jacob’s family complained, the failures were minimised and swept under the carpet.” The family’s campaign has been named Justice4Harry19, highlighting similar concerns about policing investigations in high-profile cases.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesman acknowledged the IOPC findings and said the force would continue to engage with Jacob Crawshaw’s family while noting the matter remains a live investigation. The former officer’s representative and the Police Federation said comments could not be made while the investigation is ongoing. Another line of inquiry, the IOPC review, could prompt a broader HMICFRS assessment of the force’s road traffic investigation practices to determine whether lessons have been learned from Crawshaw’s death and from Harry Dunn’s case.

The IOPC said its findings focus on the handling of the Crawshaw investigation and do not conclude guilt or innocence in any ongoing proceedings. The developments come amid wider concerns about accountability in police investigations in the United Kingdom and reflect ongoing efforts to strengthen oversight of road traffic investigations.

The case underscores the tension between internal police reviews and independent oversight in trauma-filled investigations, as families seek justification for how their loved ones died and how such investigations are conducted. The IOPC’s action signals a move toward clearer accountability in cases where procedural shortcomings might have influenced outcomes, even when criminal charges against witnesses or suspects have already been resolved.

If HMICFRS proceeds with a broader review, it would examine Northamptonshire Police’s practices in road traffic inquiries, including the handling of the Crawshaw case and whether earlier signals were missed that could have changed the investigative course. Analysts say the outcome could affect future protocols and training across forces as authorities strive to prevent repeat failures in similar high-stakes investigations.

The Crawshaw family continues to pursue accountability through public statements and advocacy, while police officials say they will provide further updates as the live investigations and potential reviews progress. The IOPC emphasized that its process is independent of any criminal proceedings and is designed to assess whether police actions met expected standards, with the aim of preventing systemic mistakes in future operations.