14th JUNE, 1997 NEWS REPORT

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: I left crash for security reasons, says Parker Bowles

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By Sandra Barwick

CAMILLA Parker Bowles has told police that she left the scene of a car crash because, being classed a security risk, she had to contact royal protection officers.

Walking away from an accident is, in some circumstances, illegal. But if it is correct that she has special security status because of her close friendship with the Prince of Wales, and left the scene under a royal protection officer's advice, she is likely to be spared prosecution. A Wiltshire police spokesman last night said that the matter was still being investigated to see if there was evidence that Mrs Parker Bowles had committed any offence.

A security officer who had been guarding the Prince of Wales picked her up near the scene soon after the crash on Wednesday night, which left another driver trapped in her car in a ditch. Mrs Parker Bowles was taken to Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, the Prince's country house, where he had been expecting her for dinner.

She has told police that she initially left the scene of the crash because the signal on her mobile phone was "extremely poor" and she had to find a higher location to call emergency services. A police spokesman said: "The other mitigating circumstance she has put forward is that because she is obviously classed as a security risk, she had to contact the security officers at Highgrove."

After the accident, on a country road four miles from Highgrove, Carolyn Melville-Smith, the other driver involved, was trapped in her Volvo 740 which had ended up on its side in a ditch. Mrs Parker Bowles is reported to have looked to see that she was not badly injured before running to phone 999. She was said to be shocked and close to fainting.

Miss Melville-Smith, 53, an interior designer, of Easton Grey, Wilts, said yesterday: "I am not a terrorist threat, am I? I was trapped in my car, yelling for help and she did not come. I could have been badly hurt and she just left me there."

She said that she had spent some time looking in fields "trying to find this other driver. We didn't know what had happened to her." She added that if she had left the scene of an accident, "I would be in a lot of trouble right now".

Mrs Parker Bowles suffered a blow to the head and a twisted wrist. She was treated by a local doctor at Highgrove. Miss Melville-Smith was released from her car by a couple in a following vehicle and was treated for minor chest injuries in hospital.

Miss Melville-Smith was breath-tested soon after the accident, which took place at 8.17pm at Norton, near Malmesbury. Mrs Parker Bowles, 49, was breath-tested at around 11pm at Highgrove, when she was also interviewed about the accident. Both tests proved negative.

Wiltshire police arrived at the scene at 8.25pm, but the time of the royal protection officer's arrival is not known. He checked before leaving that Miss Melville-Smith was not badly injured, but appears not to have given her Mrs Parker Bowles's name.

The law requires drivers involved in an accident to exchange details personally unless they are prevented by injury. When asked why a royal protection officer appeared to have taken the decision to escort Mrs Parker Bowles away, contrary to the apparent requirements of the law, a spokesman for specialist operations police forces said that she did not have that information. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said she could not discuss security matters.

It is not known how many close friends of the royal family are classed as security risks. Mrs Parker Bowles has no official link with the Prince. Mrs Parker Bowles could also be charged with driving offences if there is any evidence to suggest that she was driving recklessly.

There have been unconfirmed reports that neither driver was to blame and that the wheel of Mrs Parker Bowles's car may have come off before the collision. Insp Geoff Hicks, of Wiltshire Police, said scientific evidence was being gathered from the lane where the crash happened. "This information may show us that either or both of the people involved was at fault," he said.

Asked if Mrs Parker Bowles could be prosecuted for leaving the scene, he said: "We understand she left to call the emergency services. It will depend on the exact circumstances. That is one of a number of things that will be fully investigated."

Miss Melville-Smith said yesterday that she had fully recovered from the accident. "I am absolutely fine. I just wish I could forget Camilla Parker Bowles and get on with my life," she said.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, it is illegal to fail to report an accident. The law requires drivers involved in a crash to remain at the scene for a reasonable period and to give details of car registrations, and names and addresses, to others involved.

An AA spokesman said yesterday that insurance details were also required if anyone had been injured. Asking another to give details on your behalf was not acceptable unless injury prevented it. Should a driver fail to exchange details, they must be given to a police station or police constable within 24 hours.

The maximum penalty is six months in prison and/or a fine of £5,000, and 10 penalty points. The AA believes that, other than on strict legal requirements, it is difficult to give advice to those involved in crashes, because often those involved are too shocked or hurt to react logically. For causing an accident, a driver could be charged with dangerous driving or careless driving. The former is punishable by up to two years in jail.

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