A SENIOR police officer faces an internal investigation after causing a head-on crash while trying to make a hands-free call to her husband – Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson.

Assistant Chief Constable Kerrin Wilson, of Heighington, County Durham, collided with an oncoming car as she left work at Lincolnshire Police in December, causing it to swerve off the road.

The 51-year-old was this week fined £1,460 and had seven points put on her licence at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, having previously admitted driving without due care and attention.

She did not attend the hearing due to professional commitments but, in a letter to the court, said the incident was a “one-off momentary lapse of judgement” and she was “genuinely remorseful”.

The Northern Echo:

Driving at about 15mph and straddling both lanes, she had been attempting to find the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel of a new car in order to call her husband, the MP for Sedgefield Phil Wilson, when the crash happened.

Wilson, who was driving a Mini, and the other female driver were both treated for minor injuries.

After the hearing, Wilson, in a statement released through the force, said: “Never having been in an accident at which I was at fault this incident has really shaken me. I would like to apologise to the other driver and thank the officers involved in the investigation.

“It is not easy for them to investigate a senior officer but they have done so with due diligence, respect and professionalism throughout.”

She added: “If there is any message I can give to other drivers from my experience it is that we need to be fully focused on driving when we are behind the wheel, and to get familiar with any new car as quickly as possible before driving it.”

Following the court case, Lincolnshire Police said: “Ms Wilson accepted from the outset that she was at fault in the collision, the summons and the penalty imposed by the court. As is always the case in these circumstances, an internal conduct enquiry will follow.”

Wilson became Assistant Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police in summer 2018, having previously been head of Cleveland & Durham Police Special Operations Unit and serving on the Durham, North Yorkshire, Northumbria and Cleveland forces.