Fatal collision following pursuit - West Mercia Police, December 2016
At 11.20pm on 17 December 2016, two West Mercia Police officers were carrying out duties in relation to the seasonal drink drive campaign, when a VW Golf came to their attention. Officers followed the Golf for a short time before they lost sight of the vehicle, which was being driven at apparent excess speeds. The officers decided to conduct a routine stop on the Golf and made efforts to catch up with it. On regaining sight of the Golf, officers turned on the police car’s blue lights, but the Golf failed to stop and the police vehicle entered into a pursuit with it.
At around 11.25pm, the Golf crashed into fencing bordering a rural road in Hereford. The Golf then turned on its roof and landed back on the road, where it collided head on with the pursuing police vehicle.
The Golf’s passenger was provided with medical care but, shortly after midnight on 18 December 2016, he was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Golf was later found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.
During the investigation, our investigators obtained expert advice from a collision investigator and a police driver trainer. We also obtained data recorded relating to the police vehicle’s speed, distance, acceleration and direction travelled and asked an expert to analyse and interpret the data.
Investigators interviewed the driver and passenger of the police vehicle under misconduct and criminal caution. It was alleged that, before the crash, the police driver was travelling at an unsafe speed, bearing in mind the road conditions and visibility, and had also appeared to fail to inform the control room that the pursuit was taking place and to seek authorisation to continue the pursuit. The other officer in the police vehicle was also alleged to have failed to inform the control room that the pursuit was taking place and to seek authorisation to continue the pursuit.
Based on the evidence, we were of the view that it would be considered necessary and proportionate to follow/pursue the Golf, as it was being driven at excess speed, posing a risk to the car’s driver and passenger and other road users.
The police driver trainer considered all the evidence and concluded that the police driver drove with control, altering their speed according to the layout of the road. Evidence also indicated that the police vehicle was approximately 43–100 metres behind the Golf at the time the Golf crashed into the fencing.
The collision investigator stated that visibility would have been in the region of 200 metres, that the conditions were not icy and the road was wide enough for two vehicles to pass with care.
We were of the view that the police driver was unable to avoid their vehicle colliding with the Golf, due to the unpredictable way in which it behaved.
Evidence also indicated that the pursuit took place over 24 seconds prior to the collision, and that officers had informed the control room the pursuit was taking place, and taken steps to seek authorisation. Authorisation was not obtained because there was insufficient time available before the accident happened.
At the end of the investigation, 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.
After reviewing our report, West Mercia agreed.
We completed our investigation in July 2018 but waited until the criminal proceedings had completed, in summer 2019, before publishing its outcomes.