THREE people were killed and another left fighting for her life after their car crashed during a police pursuit in Oldham early today.
Their Vauxhall Vectra smashed into a garden wall on Middleton Road in Chadderton at about 3.30 am.
Two men and a woman were killed. A second woman was taken to hospital where her condition was critical. A short time earlier police tried to stop the vehicle in Oldham town centre.
It sped off and police followed for about a mile before the vehicle crashed into the garden wall. The incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
The area around the crash site remained sealed off by police. Forensic officers were examining the mangled wreckage of the Vectra before it was taken away by a recovery vehicle.
Speaking at the scene, Supt Alan Greene said the police pursuit vehicle was some distance from the Vectra when it crashed.
Speed
He said: "The vehicle was going at considerable speed, so much so that the police car could not keep up with it. "The speeds involved are really quite considerable and those in the car appear to be quite young people."
Paul Kelly, 40, a warehouse manager who lives about 100 yards from the scene, said he was awoken by a huge explosion at around 3.45am.
He said: "It was so loud I thought something had come into my house. "I ran to the window and could see the car in flames.
"By the time I got out into the street the police were already here and they told me to go back inside.
"The ambulances arrived and then the fire brigade."
Mr Kelly said the junction of Middleton Road and Broadway, which the car is thought to have crossed moments before the crash, has a rise in the road surface.
He said: "There is a rise in the road as you come into Middleton Road and it looks like the driver has lost control, hit the kerb a few times and spun round and overturned."
Explosion
Matthew Tipton, 28, a centre-forward with semi-professional Droylsden Football Club, lives in Middleton Road with wife Becky and their young son. He said: "I was woken up by police sirens, then seconds later I heard a really loud explosion.
"It felt like a bomb had gone off in my house. "From the sound of the sirens, I think the police were possibly still on the other side of Broadway when the Vectra crashed.
"The Vectra must have been going at some speed because the rise in the road at the junction is bad enough when you're going at normal speed. "Loads of police cars and fire engines arrived and were here for a very long time."
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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
Colin Bells bad knee, salford (16/11/2008 at 12:44)
RED RAZOR, CUTTING YA UP (16/11/2008 at 12:58)
Ferrari, Toulouse (16/11/2008 at 13:09)
ebble, manchester (16/11/2008 at 13:19)
Ewan Oosami, Halifax (16/11/2008 at 13:37)
They should have stopped.
The rags have OFFICIALY 4 out of every 5 fans attending from outside the Manchester area., Middleton (16/11/2008 at 15:55)
Vote NO.....you know it makes sense, MADchester (16/11/2008 at 16:26)
And before people start complaining, the Police have a job to do, so don't start blaming the Police officers for this tragic outcome.
PW, Manchester (16/11/2008 at 16:35)
Cllr Ken Hulme, Delph (16/11/2008 at 17:21)
Any young death is a tragedy but my sympathies are with the police - they are being put in an impossible position by society - cheap booze - ridiculous opening hours in Town Centre pubs and an attempt to place responsibility for the lunatic and criminal behaviour of others on to their shoulders.
Blue Moon3 (16/11/2008 at 18:06)
Rt Hon Dr Rev MC Spanner MP QC FCA FRICS JP OK (16/11/2008 at 18:41)
Cllr Delph. The booze and the pubs is not the issue. Millions of people buy alcohol and go out and enjoy themselves.
This problem goes deeper. It's when you add a life of benefit dependency and crime, no morals and and role models.
abbott71, bolton (16/11/2008 at 18:59)
lets think about the cop who was behind the vehicle,he will be thinking could he have done anything different....and no you could nt....
as for red razer get your facts right......the distance travelled the helicopter would nt even have got airborne...a roadblock???no injuries...you ve obviously neva seen the aftermath then....
society has gone mad there is no respect for anyone let alone the police....and the sooner the majority realise this then we will all be safe.....
it is a terrible loss of life but its becomming the norm..my thoughts are with the advanced driver...the innocent party put in this position
cheshirelad1976 (16/11/2008 at 19:37)
Have you actually read what you have written? I doubt it. "The police should pursue them till they run out of petrol"!! Yes because a 400 mile pursuit would be so much safer. I think you will find most pursuits only last a couple of minutes, no they are not safe but what is the alternative. Liverpool police banned pursuits about ten years ago, the result was car loads of scroats doing handbrake turns in stolen cars outside police stations because the police could not do anything! Those officers will now be subject of intense discipline procedures no doubt and could even end up in court. The councillor asks who would join the police now, I for one would not. Not as long as people like "Red Razor" with clearly no life experience felt they could judge me.
MancLadUK, Manchester (16/11/2008 at 19:40)
I am sorry, but your suggestions just wouldn't work. Causing a road block often endangers more lives. Just look at the example with the Mersey Tunnels police for a good reason as to why police road blocks are extremely rare these days and require authorisation from the very top ranks before being put in place.
As for allowing the car to continue until it runs out of fuel, that could be hours, by which time the car being driven by the offender can cause serious injury or death to other people.
I'm not sure who India 1 is, I suspect you mean India 99 the helicopter. It's not always possible to get it to a situation like this as it's a forcewide resource and could be in the use by others at the time.
I'm sorry that people have died, but I don't see that anyone other than themselves is to blame for their own deaths and I am very thankful that nobody else was killed.
Hopefully the police that did their job as expected by the public won't face any problems for this, unless of course something is uncovered during the investigation that shows they did something wrong themselves.
Simple solution to these situations though, when told to stop by the police, DO SO!
heptarchy, aha (16/11/2008 at 20:01)
Grimupnorthx, North Manchester (16/11/2008 at 20:20)
I hope the owner of the house & wall is okay.
-Soothsayer+ (16/11/2008 at 22:03)
I agree with the cllr. What on earth is going on with the sale of alcohol. The police have enough to deal with already. These deaths are probably a direct consequence of the lax laws on alcohol.
Let's face it we have a societal problem with alcohol. Whether it's to do with family problems or education it doesn't matter ... we should get a grip if it.
Just like rationing was necessary during the war I now think clearing the shelves of alcohol, raising the minimum age to 25 and only serving alcohol in bars, pubs and designated, licenced off-licences is necessary!
ENGINEER, Heywood (16/11/2008 at 22:52)
The passengers knew what was happening and would appear to have done nothing to stop the driver be he over the limit, is so they should never have got in the car in the first place, or disqualified, same again and if he had no insurance he should not have been behind the wheel.
Easy option is to blame the police and the idea they should drop back and let a helicopter take over is ridiculous, what would they feel if it was one of their family who were stood on that corner when he crashed killing them.
Laura Norder, Didsbury (17/11/2008 at 00:33)
who cares, somewhere interesting (17/11/2008 at 01:45)
The driver should have stopped. He is the only one to blame.
Last Pint of Holts, Middleton Manchester (17/11/2008 at 08:04)
My family moved to the UK in the 50's from St Lucia, it was a dream come true. An opportunity to live somewhere with a sense of fair play, employment, a sense of history and a sense of discipline.
Where is the discipline and fair play now?
stivh, Urmston (17/11/2008 at 09:32)
They stopped, they drove off and then at high speed crashed. My only concern is that an unmarked vehicle originally stopped them - Did this spook the driver?
As it stands the driver is at fault if he crashed the car what ever condition his mental or physical state was he stopped and should of stayed stopped.
I feel dreadfully sorry for the victims if they had no choice but then again they got in with the driver.
Yes too many Police are involved in Fatal accidents considering they are generally beyond any form of legal action and I am sure some of them when driving always hope they will get their momment on Stop,Police,Action or some similar named chase program which glorifies these antics for the Police and the Public and also proves what pathetic penalties get handed out to the drivers.
local_lass, Burnage (17/11/2008 at 15:32)
The speed of the chase is determined by the lead car, not the police car. Whether they have a van, car or helicopter behind them if they are trying to get away they will drive as fast as they can. At that point the police car is simply trying to maintain visual contact and relay information , either for the helicoptor to find them and take over, or to get other officers/cars to strategic locations ahead to make a safe stop. Neither of those things can happen unless the police pursue these drivers.
It seems to me that when this car sped off the police car was stationary - how then can the police be blamed for any part of this tragedy?
denise lewis (18/11/2008 at 12:52)
Jade Goldie (18/11/2008 at 15:26)