By David Young-
The IOPC today cleared Police officers who pursued a vehicle in Lancashire before it was involved in a fatal crash killing a 29-year-old man have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation concluded officers involved acted in accordance with the relevant policies and procedures during the pursuit in July 2021.
An inquest which concluded earlier today at Preston Coroner’s Court, determined Imran Sultan, 29,(pictured) died as a result of a road traffic collision.
Police confirmed that the man, Imran Sultan, originally from Luton, died in Royal Preston Hospital around 1.40am the following day.
His female passenger was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Toxicology found Mr Sultan had an amount of alcohol in his system over the legal limit, as well as traces of cannabis, but nothing majorly significant that would have hugely affected his reactions.
Officers trailed the driver, Imran Sultan, who took the M65 exit leading to the A56 towards Manchester, before speeding through narrow lanes and overtaking traffic on the wrong side of the road.
Sultan did not have a licence and was not insured to be driving the car, one of the reasons police think he refused o stop.
Police continued to follow Sultan, and said they witnessed him exceed speeds of more than 70mph, with it sometimes hitting 90mph, a speed which was noted on the police dashboard and dashcam footage as they were giving chase
IOPC
Lancaster Police referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for the reason that the death involved a police chase.
The inquest, held at Preston Coroner’s Court this morning, heard a medical cause of death was offered as multiple injuries following the crash.
A female passenger was also taken to hospital as a precaution and treated for minor injuries.
IOPC investigators attended the scene of the crash and obtained CCTV footage, in-car footage from the police car, body-worn video footage and statements from both police officers and members of the public during the course of the investigation.
The investigation, which concluded in November 2021, found that two officers saw a Nissan X-Trail driving at speed while travelling along the M65 motorway towards Blackburn.
It found that a pursuit began after the driver – Imran Sultan – exited the M65 motorway via the junction eight slip road and increased his speed.
Officers told the IOPC they judged the man to have been driving erratically. Sultan had traces of alcohol and cannabis in his system and was also uninsured and didn’t have a valid licence to be behind the wheel.
The pursuit occurred within a road with speed limits ranging between 30mph and 50mph.
The in-car footage obtained during the investigation revealed that the driver did not demonstrate any intention to stop for the police, and sometimes increased the speed of the car to approximately 95mph.
It found that the contact between the police and Mr Sultan during the pursuit was brief and lasted about three minutes from the initial sighting.
The IOPC’s investigation revealed a significant distance between the police car and the Nissan , during the pursuit.
The Nissan was always within the sights of police at the time of the collision, with officers becoming aware when they saw debris on the road as they travelled round a bend.
Weather And Road Conditions
According to the evidence, the officer driving the police vehicle considered the weather and road conditions, traffic and pedestrian volume, as well as the speed of the pursuit, and this information was appropriately relayed to the control room operator.
The IOPC concluded while police presence may have affected the manner of Mr Sultan’s driving, the evidence indicated the officers acted in accordance with local and national policies.
It was also found the risk assessments carried out by the officers and control room staff during the pursuit were appropriate and necessary.
IOPC Regional Director, Catherine Bates, said: “This was a tragic event that resulted in a man’s death. Our thoughts remain with his family and all those affected.
“It is vital that incidents like this are thoroughly and independently investigated, which is what we have done.
“Our findings were provided to the Coroner to help inform the inquest proceedings.
“Our investigation found that the officers involved were appropriately-trained and driving in accordance with force and national policies during the pursuit.”