Teenager Dies in Car Crash After Police Pursuit

A 17-year-old boy has died in a vehicle collision in Birmingham, an incident that followed a police pursuit. West Midlands Police reported that the vehicle, in which the teenager was a passenger, failed to stop for officers before it crashed into a tree at approximately 02:00 GMT on Thursday on Grove Lane, Handsworth. Four other teenagers who were occupants of the vehicle were transported to a hospital; one of them is understood to have sustained life-threatening injuries. West Midlands Police has referred the event to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The IOPC stated that the police officers engaged in the pursuit were in an armed response vehicle, which had its lights and sirens activated. The A4040 Church Lane in Handsworth has been closed as police investigate the circumstances of the collision. National Express West Midlands has consequently diverted the 11A, 11C, and 101 bus services. Handsworth Wood councillor Gurdial Singh Atwal expressed that while the precise facts of the incident were still unknown, the death of the teenager was upsetting. He stated: “We don’t know what exactly happened but it is fair to say it is very sad news a young person has died.” An IOPC spokesperson reported that West Midlands Police informed the watchdog that at approximately 02:15 GMT, “officers in an armed response vehicle attempted to stop a vehicle and activated their lights and sirens, before a brief pursuit began”. The spokesperson further added: “After being notified by West Midlands Police we began an independent investigation and sent investigators to the collision scene.”