A CORONER has praised the courage of a motorist who risked his life in an attempt to save Cumbrian roads policing officer Nick Dumphreys after a crash on the M6 Motorway near Carlisle.

As the inquest into the tragedy got underway, there was poignant evidence from one of the people who stopped to help the officer in the minutes after the crash on the afternoon of January 26, 2020.

PC Dumphreys, 47, was driving his marked police car – a BMW 330 – southwards between Junctions 43 and 44 when it crashed, with flames seen coming from the engine compartment, the inquest heard.

Among the witnesses to testify on day one of the five-day hearing was Hubert Sapieha, who was driving south with his wife and their two children at around 2pm when he saw the accident scene. 

“I saw two cars stopped on the left side of the motorway,” said Mr Sapieha, describing how he could see the police car on its roof, with flames coming from the engine compartment. “I decided to stop,” he said.

Mr Sapieha commented on how some people were watching the accident scene, with some recording what was going on.

He wondered about the whereabouts of the police car’s driver, initially assuming he was “somewhere safe.”

He noticed that the crashed car’s roof was “squashed” by about 30cm to 40cm. “I realised there was someone there [in the car] and the car was on fire, but no one was doing anything, so I went for my fire extinguisher.

“I have one in my boot.”

He then tried to put out the fire but “nothing helped”, he said. “I was thinking that I wished somebody would help. If I was in that situation… I was scared every moment and thought the car might explode.”

Despite being afraid of an explosion, he somehow found the strength to open the door of the crashed police car. Noticing that the driver had his seatbelt on, he began looking for the release button and, after a few attempts, managed to use it.

Mr Sapieha said that he spoke to the driver but there was no response at all. “I was thinking that maybe he’s unconscious; but I still wanted to help him anyway."

A woman came to help him and, because the officer was a "big gentleman", they used part of a fence to drag him away from the burning car.

“In my mind, the car was going to explode,” continued Mr Sapieha. After he had tried unsuccessfully to give the officer first aid, a paramedic arrived and, with another person, they tried to resuscitate PC Dumphreys.

After giving that evidence, Mr Sapieha described how his life had changed, saying he could not sleep for thinking about what happened that day. He said his young son was also affected, becoming unwilling to to sleep alone. 

He added: “People were stood there just watching, some people recording. I was really annoyed.”

Responding to Mr Sapieha’s account, Marc Willems, King’s Counsel, for Cumbria Police, said he wanted to thank the witness on behalf of Cumbria Chief Constable Michelle Skeer for his “selfless” attempt in dangerous circumstances to rescue PC Dumphreys.

That gratitude was echoed by Adrian Keeling KC, for the Police Federation, who thanked Mr Sapieha of behalf of PC Dumphrey’s family.

Noting that the witness appeared to want to shrug off his courageous actions, the advocate said: “I can assure you that what you did was nothing short of heroic and we all – the family included – are very grateful.”

Coroner Robert Cohen added his praise, telling Mr Sapieha: “It’s recognised that to run towards a burning car and then go inside that vehicle while worried that it might explode or in some way endanger you was an exceptionally brave thing to do.

“It’s right that that should be recognised.”

Earlier evidence also heard about efforts to help the officer made by passers-by Robin Lewis and his wife Lauren, a nurse, and Howard Bowman. The hearing, which will hear from 38 witnesses and is due to last five days, will resume today.