Teenage boy dies in car crash following police chase in Manchester

Watchdog investigating after sharp rise in pursuit deaths across England and Wales

The site of a fatal car crash in Burnage, Greater Manchester, on 3 November (Google Streetview)

A teenage boy died after a car he was in crashed into a building, following a police chase in Burnage.

Greater Manchester Police said officers tried to pull over a Ford Fusion shortly before 9.30pm on Sunday.

“The car failed to stop and was involved in a collision with a building at the junction of Burnage Lane and Lane End Road a short time later,” a spokesperson added.

“Two males who were travelling in the car were taken to hospital with injuries that were believed to be life threatening. One of them – believed to be a boy in his late teens – has since sadly died. The other remains in hospital for treatment.”

Images from the scene showed a large hole in the wall of a building where the vehicle crashed, and was left on its side.

Greater Manchester Police has referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collision.

The watchdog said the 17-year-old boy who died was a passenger in the vehicle, which was being driven by an 18-year-old man who remains in hospital.

Det Ch Supt Jon Chadwick, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “I would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family of the person who has passed away following the collision in Burnage last night.

“The response to the incident is still ongoing and there are a number of road closures in place in the nearby area, with the scene likely to remain for some time.”

The incident came after the number of people killed in crashes involving police vehicles rocketed by 45 per cent in a year to the highest figure in a decade.

Official figures showed that 30 of the 42 deaths happened during police pursuits and five happened when officers were responding to an emergency in 2018-19.

Of the 30 pursuit-related deaths, 20 were the driver or passenger in the pursued vehicle, and 10 were in an unrelated car or were pedestrians hit by the car being chased.

Michael Lockwood, director-general of the IOPC, said there should be “ongoing scrutiny” of deaths related to police pursuits.

“Police drivers need to be able to pursue suspects and respond quickly to emergency calls as part of their duty, but it’s not without risk,” he added.

“Pursued drivers bear responsibility for their own actions but police officers should also take into account risks to the public and only undertake a pursuit where it is safe to do so, and where authorised.”

The government is planning to introduce a new legal bar assessing the standard of police driving to help protect officers from prosecution over death and injury.