Collision during pursuit - South Yorkshire Police, December 2017

In December 2017 two South Yorkshire Police officers were on patrol when a car drove through a red light in front of them. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt. With the intention of giving words of advice and a ticket to the driver, the officers began to follow the car.

The car drove away from the police vehicle, and a pursuit commenced. The pursued car overtook multiple vehicles at speed and collided with two other vehicles. The driver of the pursued car suffered serious, life-threatening injuries. Another driver also suffered serious injuries.

The driver of the pursued car was charged for multiple offences.

Our investigators attended the scene of the accident and conducted a detailed examination. They took multiple accounts from officers who attended the incident. They also obtained and analysed dash-cam footage, airwaves and medical records, and reviewed the police interview with the driver of the pursued car. We determined that the police actions were in line with policy and procedure.

Based on the evidence available we found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, or had committed a criminal offence.

We completed our investigation in April 2018 but waited until the driver of the pursued car had appeared in court in early 2019 before publishing the outcomes. The driver received a number of concurrent suspended sentences, including 21 months for causing injury by dangerous driving, and was disqualified from driving for five years.