At about 1.40am on 19 August 2001 officers in a marked police car approaching the Twelfth Milestone roundabout at Templepatrick noticed a black Toyota MR2 car stationary and facing the wrong direction on the roundabout. The car then reversed, turned and drove off at speed along the Antrim Road towards Dunadry.
Police set off in pursuit of the car but lost sight of the vehicle as it travelled around a corner at what they believed to be “a dangerous speed”.
They then heard a loud bang and rounded the corner to find that the MR2 had been in collision with a Rover car travelling in the opposite direction. The officers attended the scene and saw that three of the occupants of the Rover had been killed, and a fourth seriously injured. Both occupants of the MR2 were also seriously injured.
As is normal procedure following a fatal road traffic collision involving a police vehicle, the Police Ombudsman’s on-call Senior Investigating Officer was informed of the incident and attended the scene.
During the Police Ombudsman’s investigation, the officers involved in the incident were interviewed and vehicles at the scene photographed and forensically examined. Relatives of all the occupants of the vehicles were contacted and advised of the roles and responsibilities of the Police Ombudsman in relation to the accident.
In order to secure evidence in relation to the incident, Police Ombudsman investigators obtained statements from all ambulance and fire brigade staff at the scene, as well as several members of the public.
Outcome of the investigation:
Police Ombudsman, Mrs Nuala O’Loan, concluded: “There is no evidence that police officers drove or acted inappropriately prior to the accident.” In particular, she said there was no evidence to indicate that police actions had influenced the speed at which the Toyota MR2 had been driven.
“ The families of all parties involved in this tragic incident have been kept updated throughout this investigation and have been informed of the conclusions.”