Sneezing fit Gurkha is cleared over fatal crash which killed elderly couple
A HERO soldier was cleared yesterday of killing an elderly couple in a car crash when he suffered a sneezing fit.
St Maj Gurung, who served in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Kosovo, is one of the Army’s most decorated Gurkhas. He now has a civilian job with the Ministry of Defence.
Gurkha Sgt Maj Harry Gurung, 45, said he sneezed four or five times as he overtook a car at 74mph on his way to his barracks in Brecon, South Wales.
He clipped the back of David and Mary Marshall’s Ford Ka, sending them crashing into a tree beside the A40 near Abergavenny.
But a jury at Newport Crown Court cleared him of causing death by dangerous driving and careless driving after an expert said sneezes could be to blame.
I was trying to keep my eyes on the road – I was trying all I could to control my vehicle
Prof Ronald Eccles, director of the Common Cold Centre, said he could have been distracted for up to 12 seconds and added: “A sneeze during a critical moment of a journey could have serious consequences."
He had told police: “As I overtook I began sneezing in rapid succession. I was trying to keep my eyes on the road – I was trying all I could to control my vehicle.” Retired RAF Flight Sergeant Mr Marshall, 79, was killed outright. His wife Mary, 73, died four days later.
St Maj Gurung, who served in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Kosovo, is one of the Army’s most decorated Gurkhas. He now has a civilian job with the Ministry of Defence.
