Woman calls for law change after partner's roadside death

"He said it was just a badger. He had significant damage to his vehicle, so he should have reported it."

Chloe Mefford was the partner of Tommy Hunter, who was hit by a car on Burton Road near Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire as he walked home in the early hours of 10 December 2023. It was more than 24 hours before his body was found in a roadside hedge.

The man police investigated, Brandon Beesla, 29, said he did not stop because he believed he had hit a badger.

Beesla admitted driving a vehicle, a Pontiac Firebird, which was in a condition likely to cause danger of injury on the night Tommy went missing. He was fined £2,000 and banned from driving for 12 months.

In July, an inquest heard a case for death by dangerous driving was prepared by Leicestershire Police for the Crown Prosecution Service.

However, it was decided the force had "insufficient evidence to have a realistic prospect of conviction". The decision was upheld after an appeal by Tommy's family.

Chloe is now calling for a change in the law to require drivers to stop after an accident of any kind and report it immediately, believing Tommy would have been found sooner had this been in place.

Tommy suffered a fatal head injury after being hit by a car and was reported missing when he did not return home to Swadlincote in Derbyshire.

The 27-year-old was found by his friends during a search of the area the following day.

In March 2025, Leicester Magistrates' Court heard Beesla called a friend "in a distressed state" and said he had hit something in the road.

Prosecutor Sabrina Sahota said Beesla was "in a panic" and asked the friend "what if I hit something, someone, or an animal?"

The court heard the friend had driven to Burton Road to meet Beesla about an hour after the collision and searched the area with torches before leaving.

The prosecutor said Beesla had followed his friend home in the Firebird, which had a damaged headlight and shattered windscreen.

The friend had later called the police and Beesla handed himself in following reports that Hunter had been found dead.

At last month's inquest, senior coroner Louise Pinder said: "There is absolutely no evidence to say this was a deliberate act by either Mr Hunter or Mr Beesla."

Chloe, 27, said she was upset and angry with the way Tommy had been left at the side of the road after being knocked down, and is calling for a change to the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Currently, drivers must stop and report an accident involving certain animals such as dogs, horses, cattle, mules, sheep, pigs or goats.

But drivers who run over cats and wild animals including foxes, badgers and deer do not have a legal obligation to report it.

Chloe believes it should be an offence for drivers not to stop immediately if they believe they have been involved in an accident of any kind and report it to the police.

"[Beesla] would have broken the law by not reporting the crash and the damage," she said.

"If this law had already been in place, Tommy wouldn't have lay there alone for 29 hours with no dignity.

"It's caused us nothing but heartache and we don't want another family to go through it."

Samantha Niblett, the Labour MP for South Derbyshire,said she had been supporting Tommy's family and wrote to the government on their behalf.

In a letter, she said: "They [drivers] should be required by law to stop immediately, check for casualties where it is safe to do so, and contact emerging services without delay.

"They should not assume they've hit an animal where there is not requirement to report.

"I would ask that the law provide witnesses' guidance, where there are obvious signs of a significant collision, including substantial vehicle damage, that will cause a reasonable person to suspect that a person may have been struck or seriously injured.

"Changes would improve public safety, encourage early emergency assistance for injured people, and provide greater clarity about a driver's, passenger's, or a witness's legal responsibilities following serious road traffic collisions."

A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said: "This was a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with Tommy's loved ones.

"It is already the law that drivers must stop and report certain road collisions, and as part of our first Road Safety Strategy in over a decade, we have consulted on strengthening the penalties for failing to do so.

"We are carefully considering our responses before setting out next steps."

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