Woman, 91, who killed toddler should not have been driving – inquiry

The inquiry heard that before the crash, Mrs Duncan had cancelled her insurance because she did not want to pay the money for it as she felt she did not use her car enough.

On the day of the accident, she had illegally parked her car on a pelican crossing before attempting to perform a U-turn.

She accelerated quickly across the road, hitting Xander and his mother who were walking along the street.

Xander died in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children from multiple injuries.

Police said CCTV footage appeared to show Mrs Duncan had not applied the brakes as the brake lights had not come on.

The FAI concluded the cause of the accident was a loss of control of a vehicle “entirely caused by Edith Duncan’s inability to perform safely what would otherwise have been a routine manoeuvre”.

Although she died before her illness was confirmed, the inquiry concluded Mrs Duncan had frontotemporal dementia. She had seen a specialist in 2021 who said the condition may have gone undiagnosed.

The FAI report noted that, in an interview with forensic and legal psychology expert Prof Gary Macpherson, Ms Duncan appeared “extremely articulate”.

But there was an “emotional disconnect” between the seriousness of the charges and her response to them.

The report said that Mrs Duncan had frontotemporal dementia and the crash would have been avoided had her driving licence been revoked.

It said this step was “both reasonable and required in light of her cognitive impairment and consequent inability to drive safely”.