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The Independent
25-06-2025
- The Independent
Fatal crash of car being followed by police caused by ‘speed, alcohol and drugs'
A driver who crashed his car into a tree while being followed by police died as a result of an accident caused by the speed he was driving at as well as the influence of alcohol and cannabis, a jury has found. The jury, sitting at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court, found that Muhammad Qasim was aware of Pc Paul Withers following him in his marked police vehicle in Island Road, Birmingham, in the early hours of October 2 2023 before he lost control of his BMW and crashed. The 29-year-old died in hospital having suffered 'catastrophic' head injuries when he was ejected from the vehicle after crashing into a tree on the central reservation as he was not wearing his seatbelt at the time. He was also one and a half times over the drink-drive limit and had recently used cannabis, with a surviving passenger telling police Mr Qasim had been 'mashed' in the hours prior to the crash having drunk vodka. Pc Withers told the inquest that Mr Qasim appeared to have control of his vehicle but it came to his attention on the 30mph Church Lane because it was speeding, leading to him informing the control room over the radio that the BMW was 'absolutely flying'. Mr Qasim had been doing 'loops' of Island Road, with the police car following, and had suggested to his passengers that he was going to stop the car and they should run just before the collision, the inquest heard. The Pc, who was not trained to carry out pursuits as a standard response officer, denied that he was ever in pursuit of Mr Qasim's vehicle, telling the inquest that he was following the car to try and get intelligence including the registration number. He told the inquest he was 'perplexed' by the BMW driver repeatedly looping up and down Island Road as they did not appear to be trying to evade the police car which led him to question whether Mr Qasim even knew of the officer's presence. Senior coroner Louise Hunt said the purpose of the inquest was to examine the events leading up to the collision, the manner of driving of the officer and Mr Qasim, whether the events amounted to a police pursuit and if so, if it was compliant with West Midlands Police practice standards and general guidance, and whether there is any relevance to the manner of the driving of the police officer and Mr Qasim to the causation of his death. Before they returned a conclusion of road traffic accident, Mrs Hunt told the jury they should not record that there was a police pursuit because two independent police driving experts said they had no criticism of Pc Withers's driving, that he was 'entitled' to follow the car and that he had not indicated to Mr Qasim that he wanted him to stop and did not have his blue lights on. Both experts – Jonathan Little, chief driving instructor for Staffordshire Police and Paul Trowman, the chief driving instructor for West Midlands Police – agreed that even if there had been a 'spontaneous' pursuit, the crash would likely still have happened because of Mr Qasim's speed and contributory factors of alcohol intoxication and drugs. Referring to the final loop both Mr Qasim, and then eight seconds after, Pc Withers made before continuing along Island Road, the jury said: 'At this point, Qasim and the occupants of the vehicle were aware the police vehicle was behind them and Qasim accelerated quickly to gain distance between his vehicle and the police vehicle with the intention of abandoning the vehicle. 'As Qasim accelerated out of sight of the police vehicle along Island Road, he failed to negotiate a left-hand bend, losing control of the vehicle, mounting the grassed central reservation and hitting two trees before the vehicle came to rest on the road. The road conditions were damp but the weather was dry. 'Qasim had been ejected from the vehicle when it had hit the tree due to not wearing the driver's seatbelt. 'He suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of the crash. The accident was caused by the speed Qasim was driving, his driving ability was impaired from drinking alcohol and being 1.5 times over the drink-drive limit and having smoked cannabis. 'The way Qasim was driving had also been influenced by the presence of the police vehicle.' Mrs Hunt thanked the jury for their 'attention, patience and hard work' and said she would be creating a prevention of future deaths report in relation to two issues. She said she would write to the College of Policing, who provide guidance on pursuits to police forces, to ask them to 'clarify how the paragraph on spontaneous pursuit is applied' by officers. The coroner also said she would write to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to the lack of a forensic collision report following the crash and what investigative responsibilities continue when investigating conduct in fatal incidents. Addressing Mr Qasim's father in the court room and his sisters who listened to proceedings online, she said: 'Thank you for your patience, it must have brought back tragic memories. 'Please do look after yourselves, it has been a very difficult time for you all.'
The Independent
24-06-2025
- The Independent
Jury in crash inquest told they ‘may not record there was a police pursuit'
Jurors in an inquest into the death of a man who crashed his car into a tree while being followed by police must not record that there was a pursuit, a coroner has said. The jury retired to consider their conclusion in the inquest of Muhammad Qasim at Birmingham Coroners Court on Tuesday morning after four days of evidence. The 29-year-old suffered 'catastrophic' head injuries when he crashed his BMW into a tree on a central reservation on Island Road in Birmingham in the early hours of October 2 2023 and died in hospital later that day. He was being followed at the time by a marked police car driven by West Midlands Police response officer Pc Paul Withers, who told the inquest the BMW first came to his attention because it was speeding in a 30mph zone on nearby Church Lane. Mr Qasim, who had two passengers in the car at the time of the crash, was over the drink-drive limit, had recently used cannabis, was speeding and not wearing his seatbelt when he failed to negotiate a left-hand bend in the road and suffered fatal injuries after being ejected from the vehicle. He had been doing 'loops' of Island Road, with the police car following, and had suggested to his passengers that he was going to stop the car and they should run just before the collision, the inquest heard. Pc Withers told the court he had been 'perplexed' by the BMW driver's behaviour as they did not appear to be trying to put distance between them and the police car in the way he had usually seen when a driver is trying to evade the police. Two police driving experts last week told the inquest they had no criticism of Pc Withers's driving before the BMW crashed, accepting that the officer, who was not trained to carry out police pursuits, was following the vehicle to gain intelligence, such as the registration plate, so database checks could be made. As such, the jury may not record that any part of the incident amounted to a police pursuit, senior coroner Louise Hunt told them before they retired to start their deliberations. She said: 'I have a legal direction to give you and you must accept it. In light of the expert evidence, you may not record that any part of the events amounted to a police pursuit.' She added: 'Both experts agreed they had no criticism of the way Pc Withers was driving and was entitled to follow the vehicle to ascertain further intelligence. 'There were questions of the expert witnesses about whether Pc Withers was in a pursuit at any time. 'Both agreed there was not a pursuit at any time as he did not indicate to Mr Qasim any requirement to stop at any stage.' Both experts – Jonathan Little, chief driving instructor for Staffordshire Police and Paul Trowman, the chief driving instructor for West Midlands Police – were asked whether a spontaneous police pursuit happened. According to College of Policing guidance, a spontaneous pursuit occurs when the actions of the suspect driver in deciding to flee are triggered by the presence of a police vehicle, and there is no prior warning or sufficient time to develop a specific strategy or plan. Mr Little felt that a spontaneous pursuit may have started on the final 'loop' of Island Road, just before the crash happened, but both experts agreed that even if it had, the crash would likely still have happened because of Mr Qasim's speed and contributory factors of alcohol intoxication and drugs. Mrs Hunt said: 'They both agreed that whether or not there was a pursuit made no difference to the outcome as the crash was simultaneous to the start of any pursuit.' She added that the jury must decide the case based solely on the evidence heard in the courtroom and must come to a unanimous decision.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Jury in crash inquest told they ‘may not record there was a police pursuit'
Jurors in an inquest into the death of a man who crashed his car into a tree while being followed by police must not record that there was a pursuit, a coroner has said. The jury retired to consider their conclusion in the inquest of Muhammad Qasim at Birmingham Coroners Court on Tuesday morning after four days of evidence. The 29-year-old suffered 'catastrophic' head injuries when he crashed his BMW into a tree on a central reservation on Island Road in Birmingham in the early hours of October 2 2023 and died in hospital later that day. He was being followed at the time by a marked police car driven by West Midlands Police response officer Pc Paul Withers, who told the inquest the BMW first came to his attention because it was speeding in a 30mph zone on nearby Church Lane. Mr Qasim, who had two passengers in the car at the time of the crash, was over the drink-drive limit, had recently used cannabis, was speeding and not wearing his seatbelt when he failed to negotiate a left-hand bend in the road and suffered fatal injuries after being ejected from the vehicle. He had been doing 'loops' of Island Road, with the police car following, and had suggested to his passengers that he was going to stop the car and they should run just before the collision, the inquest heard. Pc Withers told the court he had been 'perplexed' by the BMW driver's behaviour as they did not appear to be trying to put distance between them and the police car in the way he had usually seen when a driver is trying to evade the police. Two police driving experts last week told the inquest they had no criticism of Pc Withers's driving before the BMW crashed, accepting that the officer, who was not trained to carry out police pursuits, was following the vehicle to gain intelligence, such as the registration plate, so database checks could be made. As such, the jury may not record that any part of the incident amounted to a police pursuit, senior coroner Louise Hunt told them before they retired to start their deliberations. She said: 'I have a legal direction to give you and you must accept it. In light of the expert evidence, you may not record that any part of the events amounted to a police pursuit.' She added: 'Both experts agreed they had no criticism of the way Pc Withers was driving and was entitled to follow the vehicle to ascertain further intelligence. 'There were questions of the expert witnesses about whether Pc Withers was in a pursuit at any time. 'Both agreed there was not a pursuit at any time as he did not indicate to Mr Qasim any requirement to stop at any stage.' Both experts – Jonathan Little, chief driving instructor for Staffordshire Police and Paul Trowman, the chief driving instructor for West Midlands Police – were asked whether a spontaneous police pursuit happened. According to College of Policing guidance, a spontaneous pursuit occurs when the actions of the suspect driver in deciding to flee are triggered by the presence of a police vehicle, and there is no prior warning or sufficient time to develop a specific strategy or plan. Mr Little felt that a spontaneous pursuit may have started on the final 'loop' of Island Road, just before the crash happened, but both experts agreed that even if it had, the crash would likely still have happened because of Mr Qasim's speed and contributory factors of alcohol intoxication and drugs. Mrs Hunt said: 'They both agreed that whether or not there was a pursuit made no difference to the outcome as the crash was simultaneous to the start of any pursuit.' She added that the jury must decide the case based solely on the evidence heard in the courtroom and must come to a unanimous decision.
The Independent
19-06-2025
- The Independent
Police officer who followed BMW before fatal crash denies he was pursuing car
A police officer who followed a BMW before it crashed into a tree, killing the driver, has denied he was in pursuit of the vehicle before the incident, an inquest has heard. Muhammad Qasim's vehicle came to the attention of Pc Paul Withers of West Midlands Police in the early hours of October 2 2023 because it was speeding, the officer told an inquest into the 29-year-old's death. Mr Qasim died of 'catastrophic' head injuries at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham hours after his BMW failed to negotiate a left-hand bend and crashed into a tree on a central reservation on Island Road in Handsworth. The inquest, in front of a jury of four women and seven men at Birmingham Coroner's Court, heard on Wednesday that Mr Qasim had been one and a half times over the drink-drive limit, had recently used cannabis and was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision. On Thursday Pc Withers, a standard response grade driver since 2009 and frontline police officer for 23 years, said he was not trained to carry out police pursuits and had only followed Mr Qasim's BMW just after 2am after he saw it going 'easily double' the 30mph speed limit on Church Lane to get intelligence on the car. Pc Withers and his colleague had been heading back to Park Lane police station having picked up food from McDonald's when they spotted Mr Qasim's blue BMW on the opposite side of the road. He said he decided to 'investigate' and turned around to follow because he knew Mr Qasim was heading towards a traffic junction where the police officer had just seen pedestrians and believed there could be a danger to public. Having reached the end of Island Road and losing sight of the BMW, Pc Withers said he had informed the control room he had lost the car before turning right and then right again, contravening a 'no right turn' lane to head back the way he came with the intention of returning to the police station. He then saw Mr Qasim's BMW again on the opposite side of the road and made another U-turn to follow it, saying he was 'shocked' to have seen it again before it went out of sight once more. He told the inquest: 'I thought, considering the manner of driving, that if the driver had something to hide, he wouldn't stay local knowing there's a police car in the vicinity, he would expand his route. 'I was perplexed by the behaviour of (the) driver, I didn't understand why he would carry on with the manner of driving when he had the opportunity to expand his route away from me. 'I anticipated that it would be halfway to the M5 and gain maximum distance away from me.' Pc Withers said Mr Qasim had not altered his driving in any way and that he did not believe the presence of a police car had negatively impacted the way the BMW was being driven. He said: 'If he was fleeing, he had opportunity to distance himself significantly, instead he has done reciprocal turns at the first opportunity which would put us back in close proximity to one another. He had done that on more than one occasion. 'It is not the kind of behaviour I have experienced with drivers who are attempting to distance themselves from a marked vehicle. I was confused what it was trying to achieve.' He added: 'I did consider my presence may have had an influence on the car, but I did try to maintain my speed, I tried to be the least intrusive I could be throughout the entire incident.' Pc Withers said he was only following Mr Qasim's car to get more details so database checks could be run on it and that traffic officers who were trained to pursue the vehicle were nearby and would be at the scene 'momentarily'. He said: 'It's not unusual for cars to have information markers on them if linked to criminality, for drugs or firearms, which would give us an indication if it is worth a stop. 'Quite often when vehicles have those markers, suitably trained firearms officers would do that stop and I wouldn't want us in the vicinity of that. It was impossible to tell at that stage.' According to Authorised Professional Practice guidance for police forces, the definition of a pursuit is when a car or motorcycle, by their actions or their continuance of their manner of driving, refuses to stop and that the police driver believes the subject vehicle driver is aware of a requirement to stop and the police driver continues to drive behind the vehicle to report its progress or to stop it. Asked by counsel to the inquest Bridget Dolan KC if he believed he was in pursuit of Mr Qasim's vehicle, Pc Withers said no, saying he was maintaining his speed and did not have his blue lights activated having turned them off when he first lost the BMW. He said: 'His behaviour was unusual, not what I would expect if he was trying to evade me. The distance between us would've been the width of the central reservation, we were in that space together for a couple of seconds at best. 'I had not indicated my blue lights or my horn or indicated him to stop.' After a third turn in the road was made and the police car followed in the same direction, Pc Withers said the next time he saw the BMW was when he happened upon the scene of the collision further down the road. He said: 'Right up to the last point of being in close proximity, he appeared to be in control. 'He negotiated the turns without issue, I had no evidence of him being unable to control (the car), no swaying, no weaving, nothing to cause me concern other than speed. 'I was trying to understand what he was trying to achieve. 'For the lion's share of this interaction, the BMW had not been in my presence. I had very little time to try and assess what he was trying to do, what the outcome would be. It didn't make any sense to me at the time.' The inquest continues.
