Stolen van in violent collision with police car

Cab-driver, flickr

Photo: Justin Shearer

Two Tower Hamlets police officers were injured when a stolen van rammed their vehicle following a high-speed chase last week.

A female police constable had to be cut free from the vehicle after the incident in Hackney on Thursday evening. She and her colleague, a male PC who was driving the unmarked police vehicle, were treated for head and neck injuries and have since been discharged from hospital.

A man was arrested on Saturday in connection with the incident and has been released on bail until January. Police are appealing for further information.

The Ford Transit van was reversed at speed into the police car, causing severe frontal damage.

The officers had chased the stolen van along Homerton Road after responding to a call reporting its sighting. It appeared that the driver intentionally rammed police in an audacious escape, after reaching a dead end near Hackney Marshes.

Detective Constable Rhodri Gardner appealed for information yesterday on the whereabouts of the stolen vehicle, which belonged to Oaks Civil Engineering Ltd, a company based in Essex.

Det. Constable Gardner advised caution yesterday: “If you see the vehicle being driven, dial 999 from a safe distance. Do not touch the vehicle or approach anyone within it.”

Managing Director of Oaks Engineering, Kelly Dines, confirmed today that the van was stolen from Monier Road in Tower Hamlets on Thursday.

Leave a Reply