The Police Ombudsman has found no evidence of police misconduct after investigating a fatal crash which happened as police were following a car near Ballymoney in 2005.
A man died when his BMW car left the Garryduff Road and collided with several trees in the early hours of 10 July 2005.
The car had previously come to the attention of a police patrol at about 12.20am following a report that its driver was drink driving.
Police stopped the car on the Bravallan Road, Ballymoney, and pulled up behind it. However, when an officer got out and approached, the BMW drove off.
Several witnesses told Police Ombudsman investigators that the driver of the police car immediately followed the BMW, leaving his colleague behind.
Another witness, who was located a short distance from the scene of the collision, recalled seeing a car pass him at high speed, followed by a police car which was travelling at a lesser speed. The witness said the police car had its lights and sirens activated.
He recalled that after the police car had passed he heard a loud bang, which he believed to be the first car crashing.
When interviewed by Police Ombudsman investigators, the driver of the police car said the BMW had been travelling at high speed and was pulling away from him when the crash happened.
Officer had lost sight of the car before it collided with a tree.
He said he lost sight of it, and believed the driver had turned off the road before seeing a tree lying on the carriageway. He got out of his vehicle and saw that the BMW had collided with the tree and had ended up off the road. He then called for further police assistance
A man's body was found close to the vehicle. He was officially pronounced dead at 1.50am.
The collision scene, the BMW and the police patrol car were all forensically examined during the Police Ombudsman's investigation. A forensic scientist concluded that the BMW had been travelling at a speed of between 75 and 91mph prior to the collision. Based on the amount of damage sustained by the car, the scientist stated that the speed was likely to have been at the higher end of this range.
The forensic report also stated that the BMW had begun to rotate in an anticlockwise direction before colliding with the tree.
The deceased had not been wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle. A blood sample showed that he had been three times over the drink drive limit at the time of the collision.
Having reviewed the evidence, the Police Ombudsman, Al Hutchinson, said that police had a duty to locate and stop the driver after receiving a report that he was drink driving.
Police had a duty to act following report of drink driving.
"The evidence would indicate that the primary factors resulting in the fatal collision were excess speed, combined with excess alcohol. There is no evidence to indicate any form of collision between the deceased's vehicle and the police patrol car, nor any other evidence to indicate that police acted improperly in the circumstances leading up to the collision," said Mr Hutchinson.