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Woman Dies After Car Chase
An independent inquiry is under way after a woman was killed as police chased a stolen car.
And a mother and her two young boys are fighting for their lives after the car thief ploughed into all four of them as they crossed a busy road. Police were following the driver of a silver Honda Civic which had been "carjacked" minutes earlier by an armed man.
The saloon was driven away from the scene of the hijacking in South Tyneside and the driver ploughed into two parked cars while being pursued by police. Seconds later the car thief crashed into the mother, aged 28, the children, who were in a double buggy pram, and a woman in her 40s as they crossed Horsley Hill Road in South Shields.
Northumbria Police said the older woman, named in reports as Pamela Phinn, who was from South Tyneside, died following the crash. It is understood Mrs Phinn was the injured children's grandmother.
Eyewitnesses were said to have seen Mrs Phinn try to shove the pram out of the way of the car which was believed to be speeding at up to 80 mph. But the pram was said to have been thrown 20ft into the air as the grandmother took the full force of the crash.
The mother, also from the local area, was in a serious condition and her children "were giving cause for concern".
A man was arrested at the scene of the crash and was helping detectives with their inquiries.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) confirmed that it is investigating the police pursuit. Nicholas Long, IPCC Commissioner, said: "My thoughts are with the families and friends of the deceased and the injured.
"This incident was a tragedy of the worst kind. An innocent woman lost her life while out walking on a sunny afternoon.
"Our investigation will seek to establish whether the pursuit that lead to her death was in line with driving procedures laid down by Northumbria Police Force and whether any actions could have been taken to prevent this tragic death."
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A snout has told me he's got a set of nostrils, so go and get a W so we can spin his drum to see if he's got any monkey gear - The Sweeney.
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