I never knew this lad...

But it appears that more than a few did, and he’s tragically gone too soon from this life.

He was taken far too early from this life by a car thief whose ego didn’t match his driving skills, who sped from Police when they followed him – and who then lost control of the car that he'd stolen, and crashed into another car that the victim was a passenger in. The result was fatal for Mr. Moore.

Here’s a news article on the tragedy.
http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/suttonnews/4859272.Man_dies_after_Sutton_police_pursuit/

There’s a follow up article as well…
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/4861531.Police_officer_removed_from_driving_duties_after_Carshalton_pursuit_death/

In a situation like this, you will normally see a floral tributes to someone who has been killed on our roads consisting maybe half a dozen bouquets of flowers, maybe a note or two, and that’s it.

A week on, and his memorial has grown to truly epic size. Just look at the photo. And it goes all the way round the tree, not just on one side of it.

This wasn’t, by all appearances, just a loved and now sorely missed family member, this was a man who many, many others must have thought the world of – evidence this memorial to the man.

Consider: A memorial like this doesn’t just happen. It must be properly assembled and tended – every day this week (bar my day off on Wednesday), I’ve seen candles, still lit, at the foot of the tree. Even at night, these candles still burn. I’ve not actually read any of the tributes to Mr. Moore, I don’t live anywhere near this spot, but if the floral tributes are anything to go by, this was a remarkable man – he must have been one hell of a guy to have garnered the friendship and respect so many people who miss him enough to lay tribute to the place where he fell.

The Police are now, once again, in between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, they have a duty to catch and prosecute car thieves. on the other, they are required to ensure that a whole raft of boxes are ticked in their mental checklist before starting, continuing, and terminating a car chase. The object is to avoid tragedies like this. Their investigation into what went wrong is obviously ongoing.

But the root cause of this tragedy is simple enough for someone with common sense to understand.

It’s a car thief, who is now, through his utter disregard for right and wrong, responsible for the loss of a mans life.

There’s a lesson here, but I’ll be thrice-damned if I know a workable solution.

In the mean time, my thoughts and prayers go to the family of Mr. Moore.