Businessman charged with death of Cerys Edwards – three years after she died
A businessman has been charged with causing the death of a young girl who died as a result of severe injuries she suffered as a baby nine years earlier.
The man who was driving the car involved in the crash, Antonio Boparan, a director of the 2 Sisters Food Group, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Cerys Edwards she suffered multiple serious injuries in a crash in Sutton Coldfield in November 2006. Antonio Boparan, then 19, smashed head on into her parents’ car.
Cerys was left brain damaged, paralysed and unable to breathe without a ventilator. She died in October 2015 – just weeks before her 10th birthday.
Her devastated father Gareth paid tribute to Cerys following her death and said she had a smile that would 'melt the heart of anyone present'.
He said: "Given her injuries, she never complained and was a joy to be with. She was a very happy child who loved life."
A statement issued on Boparan’s behalf following Cerys’s death stated his ‘sorrow and regret’ over the incident. It added: “Antonio remains deeply remorseful of his actions as a teenager nine years ago and their tragic consequences.”
He served six months of a 21-month sentence after being found guilty of dangerous driving. Boparan was driving on the wrong side of Streetly Lane in Sutton Coldfield in his parents Range Rover.
Now, a West Midlands Crown Prosecution spokesman confirmed to the Express and Star that Antonio Boparan was charged with causing death by dangerous driving in October. He will appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on January 10.
In 2015, the chicken empire heir was sentenced to twelve months in prison for his part in a brutal bar attack in Birmingham’s Brindley Place. Antonio Boparan was part of a group involved in a fight at the Nuvo bar which left victim Jarondeep Kooner blind in his left eye. He pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assault in the VIP room of the bar.
In August 2017, it was revealed Antonio Boparan had taken on a director role with the 2 Sisters Food Group . The company was founded by his father Ranjit Singh Boparan and has plants in West Bromwich and Wolverhampton.
Cerys was awarded £5 million compensation in 2012, along with a guaranteed annual payout of £450,000 to help pay for her care bill. The battle to secure the compensation from the insurers took more than five years.
