A SUSSEX police officer was today found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after a head-on crash.

PC Gareth Coomber sat in the dock with his head bowed as the jury returned its verdict this afternoon.

Coomber, based at Chichester, escaped jail but his career in the police force now seems certain to be over.

The jury took two hours to reach its decision after members were warned by both the defence and prosecution to "keep their emotional feet on the ground".

Father-of-four Coomber ploughed into a Vauxhall Calibra as he drove on the wrong side of the road while answering an emergency call in February, 1998.

The Calibra was being driven by Samantha Channell, whose financial adviser husband John, 34, was killed instantly.

Mrs Channell, from Selsey, had sat through the trial at Maidstone Crown Court, visibly upset as details of her husband's death were repeated.

Judge Keith Simpson fined Coomber £3,500 and disqualified him from driving for two years.

Coomber's defence counsel, Bruce Holder QC, said his client's future with the police was now "uncertain."

Coomber had taken over the wheel from a colleague because he said he knew the area better.

They were travelling on the B2415 between Chichester and Selsey after responding to a call from another officer who was being attacked at a railway station 11 miles away.

Coomber drove the car "very fast", according to witnesses who saw the vehicle minutes before the crash.

Witness Rosemary Cole said: "I was petrified. The headlights were blinding and it was all very quick.

"I had to swerve because the car had encroached on my side of the road. I had to swerve to get out of the way because if I had not done so there would have been a collision."

Mr and Mrs Channell had been to the theatre and were returning home. Mr Channell was asleep in the front passenger seat.

Mrs Channell did not take to the stand to give evidence but her statement was read out while she sobbed in the public gallery.

When Coomber was cross-examined by prosecutor Hames O'Mahony, he claimed he could not remember much about the accident.

When Mr O'Mahony suggested he was being "conveniently selective" in what he remembered, PC Coomber replied: "No, not at all."

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