AN ARMY widow has said she feels “abandoned” by the military after being left in the dark as to how her husband died.
Colour Sgt Anthony Oxley died on an RAF abroad after riding his motorbike at almost 40mph when a US soldier allegedly cut in front of him, without indicating or slowing down.
Mr Oxley suffered severe injuries, including a broken neck, and died later in hospital.
The details of the crash as well as the full extent of her husband’s injuries have been kept secret from his wife Sally, 40.
Mrs Oxley, from Warminster, met with an American General last June and claims she was told the US officer involved would face no charges and that would be “the end of the matter”.
She only gained some details of the incident and what happened to her husband at his inquest this week.
She claims she has been told the only way of finding out more information is to use the Freedom of Information laws.
Mrs Oxley said: “I feel totally abandoned by the military. Anthony spent his whole adult life in the Army, serving in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“My children kept asking exactly how Anthony died. I couldn’t give them an answer, because I didn’t know myself.”
Her husband served with the 3rd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington’s) and died in June 2016, just a few days after his daughter Honiiee-Mai’s second birthday
He also had three step children, Courtney, 20, Harry, 19, and Mason, 13.
The dad was knocked off his motorbike in the collision with the US soldier’s car on RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
The inquest heard how an initial report by UK base police was passed to US authorities, who were given jurisdiction.
The coroner, reading from a US report, said witnesses did not see the driver slow down or indicate before turning right and colliding with the bike.
Mr Oxley was said to have been riding almost 10mph too fast for the 30mph road and was not wearing a suitable helmet.
The hearing was the first time Mrs Oxley learnt more of the circumstances of the accident and her husband’s injuries despite pleading with the Ministry of Defence and US authorities.
She said. “There’s no justice. I know Anthony wasn’t wearing the right helmet, but he was only nipping around the base working. I kept asking the General why – he said that was the end of the matter.”
The Wakefield inquest ruled Anthony had died as a result of a road traffic collision. Sally was represented at the hearing by lawyers at Bolt Burdon Kemp.
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Rhicha Kapila, head of the firm’s military department, said: “It’s disappointing that, nearly two years on, Sally is fighting to obtain key US investigation reports.
“There is a desperate need for transparency and disclosure, so that the family of Sgt Oxley is reassured his death was properly investigated.
“There needs to be a clear understanding as to how and why the US General decided not to press charges.”
A spokeswoman for the MoD told The Sun Online: "Our thoughts remain with CSgt Anthony Oxley’s family and friends. The family continue to receive support from an Army visiting officer and have received briefings from the MOD and the US military.”
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