Officer in police pursuit ‘acted appropriately’ before fatal collision
A police officer involved in a pursuit of a vehicle in Greater Manchester before it was involved in a fatal collision “acted appropriately”, an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation concluded.
An inquest which concluded on Wednesday (April 9) at Manchester South Coroner’s Court, determined Xena Georgiou, 20, died as a result of a road traffic collision.
The IOPC investigation began in December 2023 following a mandatory referral from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) following the collision on December 3 in which Ms Georgiou, 20, died.
The investigation, which concluded in September 2024, established that at approximately 8.15pm, two GMP officers were conducting patrols in a marked police vehicle and after carrying out checks on a black BMW which showed the vehicle was uninsured and registered outside of the Greater Manchester area.
“The officer activated their emergency equipment, signalling for Ms Georgiou who was driving to pull over, and the vehicle came to a stop on Homelands Road,” the IOPC said. “After speaking with Ms Georgiou to obtain details for further checks, the officers asked her to sit in the police vehicle and wait but shortly after the BMW drove off.
“On returning to their vehicle, the officers followed the BMW for approximately two minutes, driving through residential streets. At 8.25pm, they briefly lost sight of the BMW round a sweeping bend and when it appeared back into view, they saw the BMW had collided with a parked car on Marsland Road.
“Ms Georgiou was taken to hospital and sadly died of her injuries and two passengers in the BMW were seriously injured in the collision.”
The IOPC said its investigation looked at whether the officers’ actions and decisions were appropriate and proportionate in the circumstances, whether the pursuit was conducted in line with the law and national and local policy and the contact police had with the occupants of the BMW, in the immediate aftermath of the collision, including any first aid administered.
Analysis of the data indicated the police vehicle reached a top speed of 77mph on Marsland Road, which has a 30mph speed limit, averaging between 50mph and 70mph. The IOPC said while it is not possible to know the exact speeds Ms Georgiou was travelling at during the pursuit, it would be likely she was driving at least at these speeds or faster.
The officer driving activated the emergency warning equipment throughout the periods of high speeds and kept a distance of approximately one to three car lengths behind the BMW throughout.
“We concluded that while police presence may have affected the manner of Ms Georgiou’s driving, there was no indication any police officer had behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence,” the IOPC said.
“However, we decided it would be appropriate for the police driver to undertake reflective practice and address performance issues informally via the individual’s line management.
“The performance issue specifically relates to the speed the officer passed through a red light while approaching the junction from Hope Road and Brooklands Road during the pursuit.”
IOPC Director Amanda Rowe said: “This was a tragic incident in which a young woman lost her life and our thoughts remain with her family, friends and all those affected.
“Our investigation was independent of the police and aimed to understand events leading up to the collision. We decided the officer should work with their supervisor to reflect on the pursuit and potentially influence their decision making in the future.
“The evidence we gathered was provided to the coroner to assist with the inquest proceedings, which we hope has helped answer some of the families’ questions about that day.”