Investigation into police contact with a driver prior to a road traffic collision - South Yorkshire Police, April 2023

In April 2023, South Yorkshire Police (SYP) were contacted by a member of the public to report the theft of their car, from their home address. At that time the member of the public could hear their vehicle being driven away and details of the stolen vehicle were circulated to SYP officers.

An SYP officer was on patrol in a marked police vehicle when the stolen car came towards him. As the officer turned their vehicle in the road to follow the Mercedes, the vehicle began to pick up speed. Within approximately 13 seconds, the Mercedes crashed into a parked, unattended vehicle. As the officer went to assist the driver it became apparent the driver, was unconscious. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Our investigators secured and reviewed the in-car camera footage, body worn video footage, and radio transmissions relating to the pursuit, along with the police in-car data which showed the speed of the pursuing police car.

We obtained a detailed account from the police driver.

The investigation concluded there was no indication that any of the police officers or police staff may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence.

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. 

In this case no learning was identified.