Review after Met officer’s son walked free for killing two in drug-driving crash

The words of a teenager who escaped jail despite killing two men while driving high on cannabis are now being reviewed by police.

Max Coopey, 18, the son of a Metropolitan Police sergeant, previously confessed to smoking ‘one and a half joints of weed’ before getting behind the wheel of his dad’s Audi A5 sports car last August.

He then ploughed straight into John Shackley, 61, and Jason Imi, 48, as they crossed the road near the village of Sunninghill, Berkshire, killing them instantly.

At the time, the teenager had given a no-comment interview and refused to talk what happened during the crash.

With no other witnesses, police were then forced to rely on an accident investigation reconstruction report, prepared by police collision investigator Adrian White.

PC White said there was insufficient evidence to charge the teenager with causing the men’s deaths.

Coopey, who has a string of previous convictions, including drug-driving just eight weeks before the crash, walked free from court with just 100 hours of community service and a £105 fine.

He was also banned from the road for two years – but was caught back behind the wheel just two months after the killing the men.

Months later, during an inquest into Mr Imi and Mr Shackley’s deaths, Coopey was told he didn’t have to answer any questions which he thought might incriminate him.

However, he went on to break his silence, and described seeing both the men as he reached the top of a blind summit.

He continued: ‘I first braked when they were on the pavement because they are looking out on the road as if they are going to cross.

‘They started across, They were fast walking. They continued towards the middle of the road, started panicking.

‘I continued braking, throughout the whole time, from the time I saw them on the kerb until the time I stopped, my foot was slammed down the whole time.

‘They got to about halfway and I was very close, I do not know but it looked like they were panicking from my view, they continued quickly, tried to make it.

‘One of them went in front, the other followed him, behind him. From my point of view, it looked like they were panicking and quickly tried to run across the crossing and quickly get across.’

Lawyers for Mr Imi and Mr Shackley’s families have now said Coopey’s account suggests he could have been speeding.

It means the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) could potentially charge him with causing death by dangerous driving.

The lawyers told the inquest that a tyre mark on the road showed Coopey had only applied the brakes at the point of impact, despite having two seconds to react.

PC White was then asked by assistant coroner Alison McCormick whether Coopey’s evidence ‘means he was likely to have been going more than 50mph’.

He responded: ‘I would have to consider a range of speeds.’

Ms McCormick then asked if his report conclusion would be different given the additional evidence, to which he replied: ‘The reconstruction process would have been different in the sense that I would have considered, is he saying that he saw them and braked straight away?’

Coopey, who was 17 at the time of the crash, was previously accused of showing no remorse as he complained in court that the incident had affected his mental well-being.

Mr Shackley’s daughter Danielle, 31, said: ‘Coopey is basically sat there laughing at us. We cannot rest and we cannot grieve.

‘We are not getting any justice at all and we are not being treated properly. How can you get behind the wheel of a car while you are high on drugs, kill two people and not go to prison for it?’

While Mr Imi’s widow, Sarah, said: ‘As we try to rebuild our lives, we are reminded that this boy just does not care about anyone but himself.

‘His parents are both serving police officers, as yet there is no decency in either of them – not once have they attempted to apologise for our loss.’

Coopey is currently facing a possible jail sentence for the separate crime of illegally driving a car just weeks after killing Mr Shackley and Mr Imi.

He also has a string of previous convictions dating back to when he was 12, including common assault, robbery and drugs.

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police confirmed that a review of Coopey’s new statement is ‘currently being undertaken’.