Coroner warns Jaguar over £70k electric car after tragic death of Plymouth boy Alfie Tollett

'Cheeky, funny and precious' Alfie Tollett who was crushed between two vehicles
-Credit: (Image: Devon and Cornwall Police / SWNS)


A coroner has called on Jaguar Land Rover to re-evaluate the design of their £70,000 electric SUVs, the I-PACE, following the heartbreaking death of a seven-year-old boy last year. Alfie Tollett was tragically crushed between two vehicles while putting on his rugby boots in February last year.

Alfie was at Plymstock Albion Oaks RFC in Plymouth for one of his brothers rugby games when he found himself trapped between his family's parked car and a van, after a Jaguar I-PACE driver mistakenly pressed the wrong button in an attempt to reverse. The driver of the SUV "relied on feel" to locate the reverse function but inadvertently accelerated forwards for roughly 10 seconds, driving the vehicle into Alfie.

Despite Alfie's father's swift attempts to move the family car forward to free his son, the boy tragically passed away shortly afterwards. The post-mortem examination determined that blunt force traumatic chest injuries were the cause of Alfie's untimely death.

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The Jaguar I-Pace does not have a regular gear stick, instead using an automatic system with three buttons: drive, neutral, and reverse, reports the Mirror.

In the tragic incident on February 19, the 55-year-old man "used his left hand to select the reverse button" with the intention of realigning the vehicle, which was owned by his spouse. Tragically, he failed to verify the selected button by sight and depended instead on tactile feedback before ignoring an auditory caution signal.

Plymouth Coroner Deborah Archer issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report at the conclusion of the inquest into Alfie's tragic demise, acknowledging the driver's "number of errors" but also highlighting a potential issue with the design of the car's electric transmission. Speaking to Jaguar, she stated: "In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action."

The man failed to ensure he was in reverse before pressing the accelerator, according to police officers investigating the incident. He also didn't press the vehicle's brake once, even as his car moved forward for 10 seconds and collided with the van parked ahead.

Coroner Archer commented: "However, these errors occurred as a result of there being no intermediary step within the Jaguar I-PACE being necessary to put the car into drive/reverse other than pressing a button.

"In the police officer's opinion if there had also been a lever or something similar present in the vehicle that needed to be engaged before a button was pressed this may have alerted [REDACTED] to the fact that he had pushed the incorrect button on the three button console."

Alfie's parents, Stephen and Gemma Tollett, said: "There is so much we could say about Alfie, but we just want everyone to know he was our amazing, cheeky, precious little boy who we all miss and love so very much. Alfie’s memory will always be kept going through his two brothers and sister. Keep chasing the Pokémon’s, riding the unicorns, and scoring the goals up there our special Alfie Moo. We'd like to thank everyone who has sent kind messages of support for our family since that terrible day. Alfie will be forever in our hearts.

“We thank the Coroner for her findings and the confirmation that she will write to Jaguar Land Rover about whether additional steps can be taken to make this electric car safer.

“We would welcome anything that prevents any other family from having to go through what we have as a family and that includes all manufacturers of electric vehicles to review their control designs in light of this case. We have lost our beautiful son Alfie because of what we see as a design flaw and we are passionate for this to never happen again.”

A 55-year-old man was arrested by Devon and Cornwall Police on suspicion of causing death by careless driving following the incident in February 2023, and was later released on police bail. However, the driver passed away from natural causes before he could be prosecuted, resulting in his name being redacted from the Coroner's report.

Jaguar Land Rover has been given until October 22 to provide a response to the report. A spokesperson for Jaguar Land Rover said: "“We have received correspondence from the coroner and shall be responding in due course. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family of Alfie Tollett, following his accidental death.”

Hollie Muckley, from law firm HCC, who supported the family at the Inquest, added: "The Coroner has now formally concluded the Inquest and although this was hugely challenging for the family it has gone some way to answering key questions they had about the circumstances. The family now politely requests privacy as they continue to come to terms with their tragic loss and await the response from Jaguar Land Rover in relation to the Prevention of Future Deaths order instructed by the Coroner.”

Jaguar Land Rover said in a statement: “We have received correspondence from the Coroner and shall be responding in due course.

“Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family of Alfie Tollett, following his accidental death.”