A Norfolk police officer involved in a hit-and-run crash said he was suffering from amnesia after the same claim made headlines when it was used in a high-profile court case in Australia.
PC Karl Warren said he had no memory of driving his marked BMW X5 into the back of a woman's Audi at 49mph on the A146.
Instead, he told investigators he had been suffering from a condition called transient global amnesia (TGA) and charges against him were later dropped.
He made the claim days after the sentencing of Ken Grant, 72, the father of a former Australian police minister, who was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and failing to stop after a drunken crash in New South Wales in 2019.
READ MORE: Hit-and-run police officer avoids charges because he 'can't remember' crash
READ MORE: How could amnesia wipe memory of hit-and-run police driver?
During his trial it was claimed he may have been suffering from TGA, a sudden temporary episode of memory loss, and was not driving voluntarily when he crashed after a Christmas party.
However the court accepted that alcohol was to blame.
The case came to international attention and Mr Grant was sentenced shortly before PC Warren claimed to have no memory of the collision on the A146 at Barnby, near Lowestoft, on March 5 last year
Criminal charges against PC Warren were dropped after the Crown Prosecution Service and police accepted expert medical evidence that he had suffered an episode of TGA at the time of the crash.
The extraordinary case has prompted outrage from members of the public and from former Norfolk police officers since this newspaper revealed it earlier this month.
Video footage of PC Warren giving his first account of the crash was not saved while delays meant he was not breathalysed or drug tested.
Police watchdog the IOPC is investigating whether to open a review into the case after a complaint by the victim against Norfolk Constabulary.
READ MORE: Norfolk chief constable admits failings in hit-and-run case
READ MORE: Police watchdog launches investigation into hit-and-run scandal
Grant, the father of a former police minister, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in Australia.
Expert prosecution witness Dr David Rosen, a neurologist, said his actions and loss of memory did not fit with TGA or dementia and could more likely have been caused by an alcohol blackout.
Judge John Hatzistergos told Grant there was no escaping the fact he had deliberately driven a car when he was in “no fit state to do so”.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here