Parents of 'warm and funny' Katelyn Dawson speak of their continued fight to bring killer to justice

Katelyn Dawson, 15, died on January 10, 2018 in Leeds General Infirmary after being hit by a car when she was stood at a bus stop in Moldgreen, Huddersfield, waiting for a service to take her to college.

Two other people also suffered serious injuries.

Her parents Colin and Angela Dawson have now spoken to the Yorkshire Post about the devastating impact their daughter's death has had, but also of their despair over the Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) repeated refusal to prosecute the driver who killed Katelyn.

Mr Dawson said: "Katelyn had a wonderful personality, she was warm, funny and interesting. She loved life, loved people and was great to be with.

"She loved music and dancing and she made an impression on everyone she met - she had such a larger than life personality.

"She was adored by Stevie, her older sister, and they had a great friendship.

"We had so many happy times as a family. We enjoyed each other's company and were very happy together, but all this was taken away when Katelyn was killed."

Mr and Mrs Dawson say they will never forget the day Katelyn was killed and say they are still haunted by the memory.

Mrs Dawson said: "It started off as a normal day, we both work in schools and were at work.

"I saw the police arrive and I just had an awful feeling it was for me.

"The headteacher came to collect me and told me that Katelyn had been in an accident - I knew it was bad because the police were there and Katelyn had been taken to Leeds.

"I was trembling as I tried to phone Colin, I couldn't even press the dials on the phone."

Upon arriving at Leeds General Infirmary, Mr and Mrs Dawson were taken to a room where they were given the devastating news that Katelyn's injuries were too severe and there was nothing that could be done to save her.

Mrs Dawson said: "We were allowed to see Katelyn and we were with her when she slipped away.

"We were just devastated and our devastation was shared by the many friends Katelyn had, we didn't realise just how loved she was."

.Since losing their daughter, her parents say they have been waiting to find out how the crash happened and whether the driver of the car would be prosecuted.

Mr Dawson said: "As Katelyn was killed stood on the pavement waiting for a bus, we never expected that the driver would not be prosecuted and as her parents we believe the driver should be held account for taking our daughter's life, but as time passed, we started to think this might not happen."

Mr and Mrs Dawson's fears were confirmed by the CPS following a Victim Right to Review. Although the CPS accepted witness accounts that the suspect was driving dangerously and that he had drifted across lanes, they said the defence of "insane automatism" applies and he would not be convicted.

This is where a person suffers some malfunctioning of the body or mind due to an internal cause such as an illness or medical episode.

Mr Dawson said: "We cannot describe how devastating this was. It is believed that the driver fainted. From the information we have been provided with, we believe that the driver is still culpable and this should be tested in court.

"We feel extremely let down, it does not seem right that a driver can mount the pavement, kill a child and seriously injure two other people without any consequences what so ever.

"We are extremely angry about the way the justice system seems to support the perpetrator and not the victims."

Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman has now raised the issue of insane automatism in Parliament, naming the driver for the first time, as he pledges to support the Dawson family in their quest for justice.

Mr Dawson said: "We desperately feel that justice has been evaded which is wrong.

"Not only have we had to deal with the death of our daughter, we have also had to deal with this terrible injustice.

"This has massively exacerbated the terrible pain that we are feeling and also the extent to which we can rebuild our lives without our daughter.

"We cannot begin to move on when we feel that the driver has got away with killing our daughter. "

A CPS spokeswoman said: “A further and final review of this case has now been completed by the Appeals Unit under the CPS Victims Right of Review Scheme. We understand that the decision to take no further action is not what either family had hoped for, and we again our express our sincere condolences to both families for the tragic loss and injuries they have suffered.

“Both families were contacted on Friday 19 July to inform them of this decision, by the means they had specifically requested.”