Man dies in crash after pursuit involving police car near Stratford, Warwickshire

A man has died and a woman has been left critically injured in a crash after a pursuit involving a police car, Warwickshire Police has said.

Officers attempted to stop a black Audi on Birmingham Road near Stratford around 5.23pm on Monday, the force said.

The driver failed to stop and made off in the direction of the A46, before travelling back towards Stratford on the A439 Warwick Road.

Police said the driver is understood to have then collided with another car, a white Ford Puma, around 5.44pm.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver of the Ford was taken to hospital, where she remains in critical condition.

Their families have been informed and are being offered specialist support.

Police added a number of other vehicles were damaged during the pursuit, which lasted for around six minutes before the crash.

Superintendent Steve Flavell said: "Our thoughts are with the families of everyone involved in this collision and we're providing specialist support to them at this extremely difficult time.

"We made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) because a death had occurred following police contact.

"They have declared an independent investigation and we will co-operate fully with their investigation."

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A spokesman for the IOPC said it was notified by the force at 7.40pm, and said investigators "attended the police post-incident procedure to begin gathering information".

"We declared an independent investigation at 9.38pm", they said, adding: "Our investigation is at an early stage."

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