Police chase led to Shrewsbury A5 death crash, inquest told

Stefan Boswell was killed in the accident following a high-speed pursuit on June 6 last year.

The accident happened during the early hours of the morning after Mr Boswell stole a red Vauxhall Corsa from the driveway of a home in Craven Arms earlier that night, before picking up his nephew Jamie Jones.

Jones survived the crash but suffered serious injuries and is currently serving a year in jail for aggravated vehicle taking.

The pursuit ended tragically when Mr Boswell died after losing control of the car going the wrong way around the Emstrey island, mounting the embankment and crashing.

Jamie Jones, who was jailed for a year for his part in the stolen car crash that killed his uncle said they were "more like brothers".

Jones was the passenger in the Vauxhall Corsa during the police pursuit on June 6 last year.

He survived but suffered serious injuries and is currently serving a year in jail for aggravated vehicle taking.

The 20-year-old was able to attend the afternoon session of yesterday's hearing despite receiving medical treatment that morning.

He said he had little recollection of what happened on the night but told the jury that he and his uncle were "more like brothers".

Jones, who was living in Craven Arms at the time, said Mr Boswell came to Craven Arms by train on the night of the pursuit.

He said: "We left Craven Arms at about 1am. We were going to go to Wolverhampton."

Jones said Mr Boswell had taken the car and was the driver, while he was the front seat passenger.

He said: "We went to get petrol from Church Stretton and that's the last thing I remember from Craven Arms.

"All I remember is waking up in hospital and I remember going round the roundabout but that's it."

The first day of the jury inquest into Mr Boswell's death took place at the Greenhous Meadow yesterday, where Constable Mark Gallacher – the officer driving the police vehicle involved in the pursuit – gave evidence.

The jury heard that PC Gallacher had gone against pursuit procedure by also driving in the wrong lane to pursue Boswell.

PC Gallacher said he had seen what he believed was the stolen vehicle coming towards him between Dorrington and Bayston Hill, so he turned around and followed the vehicle.

When the vehicle did not stop, a police pursuit was authorised, which saw PC Gallacher pursue the vehicle Mr Boswell was driving, and follow him from the Dobbies island to the Emstrey island – driving the wrong way up the dual carriageway.

Mr John Ellery, senior coroner for Shropshire, said when approaching the Emstrey island, 20-year-old Mr Boswell, from Wolverhampton, lost control and crashed. Mr Boswell suffered fatal injuries and was declared dead at the scene, the coroner said.

Professor Archie Malcolm, a consultant pathologist who carried out Mr Boswell's post mortem examination, said the medical cause of his death was multiple injuries due to the collision. The inquest was told the results of a toxicology report found there was no alcohol or therapeutic or recreational drugs in his system.

Giving evidence, PC Gallacher said he was trained to carry out police pursuits.

PC Gallacher, who is based at Shrewsbury police station, said that prior to the pursuit, he had returned to the station when he'd been made aware a vehicle had been stolen from Craven Arms, so said he would attend. But on his way he saw what he thought was the stolen vehicle, so followed it.

Once he confirmed the vehicle's registration, he continued to follow it and put his vehicle's blue lights on but soon realised Mr Boswell was not going to stop, so a police pursuit was authorised.

At this point, Mr Boswell drove on the wrong side of the road and PC Gallacher followed. Defending his decision to pursue Mr Boswell by driving on the wrong side of the dual carriageway, PC Gallacher said: "I felt it was completely the right thing to do in the circumstances.

"I felt like I had to protect the public travelling on that road.

"I had a second or two to make a decision and it was my absolute belief that these were exceptional circumstances."

PC Gallacher said the vehicle Mr Boswell was in crashed once the pursuit had been abandoned.

The inquest was told that the police control room was unaware that PC Gallacher was driving on the wrong side of the road during the pursuit of Mr Boswell.

It was also queried whether he stopped his vehicle when he was told by Inspector Lucy Sewell to abandon the pursuit on the A5 on the outskirts of Shrewsbury.

Mr John Ellery, senior coroner for Shropshire, asked for clarification on a number of points from PC Gallacher. PC Gallacher insisted he did abandon the pursuit but for his own safety wanted to make sure he was off the dual carriageway.

Describing the moment Mr Boswell crashed on the approach to Emstrey island, PC Gallacher said: "I watched the vehicle go through the roundabout and then there was an enormous cloud of smoke and sparks. I don't recall where it went (the car) but it was no longer there."

He said when he got to the roundabout he saw two other officers who were blocking off the road to traffic and then recalls seeing the vehicle "pointing face down".

"It was like it was standing up, there was no driver but there was a passenger there," he said.

The inquest continues.