Fatal Accident
On 1 February 1995, Phipps was one of 35 protesters at Coventry Airport in Baginton, protesting at the export of live calves to Amsterdam for distribution across Europe. Ten protesters broke through police lines and were trying to bring the lorry to a halt by sitting in the road or chaining themselves to it when Phipps was crushed beneath the lorry's wheels; her fatal injuries included a broken spine. Phipps' death received a large amount of publicity, being brought up at Prime Minister's question time in the House of Commons.
The Crown Prosecution Service decided there was not enough evidence to bring any charges against the driver. Phipps' family blamed the police for her death, because the police appeared determined to keep the convoy of lorries moving despite the protest. The inquest heard that the driver may have been distracted by a protester running into the road ahead of him, who was being removed by a policeman. The policeman in charge of the protest speculated that Phipps had chosen "deliberately fall" under the wheels of the truck, but Phipps' father insisted that she did not want to die as she had a young son to live for.
Read more about this topic: Jill Phipps
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