PC denies being in pursuit of car in fatal crash

A police officer has denied being in pursuit of a BMW before it crashed into a tree, killing the driver, an inquest has heard.

Muhammad Qasim died of "catastrophic" head injuries at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, after his car failed to negotiate a left-hand bend, crashing into a tree on Island Road, Handsworth.

PC Paul Withers, of West Midlands Police, said he was following the 29 year-old's vehicle after he saw it travelling "easily double" the 30mph speed limit.

He told an inquest at Birmingham Coroner's Court on Thursday he was not trained to carry out police pursuits and only followed the BMW to get intelligence on the car.

PC Withers, a standard response grade driver since 2009 and frontline police officer for 23 years, told a jury he decided to "investigate" Mr Qasim's blue BMW after spotting it speeding in the early hours of 2 October 2023.

The inquest heard on Wednesday that Mr Qasim had been one and a half times over the drink-drive limit, had recently used cannabis and was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision.

PC Withers said he and his colleague had been heading back to Park Lane police station having picked up food from McDonald's.

He said he turned around to follow the car because he knew Mr Qasim was heading towards a traffic junction where he had just seen pedestrians and believed there could be a danger to public.

He then saw Mr Qasim's BMW again on the opposite side of the road and made another U-turn to follow it.

PC Withers said Mr Qasim had not altered his driving in any way and he did not believe the presence of a police car had negatively impacted the way the BMW was being driven.

"I had not indicated my blue lights or my horn or indicated him to stop."

After a third turn in the road was made and the police car followed in the same direction, PC Withers said the next time he saw the BMW was when he happened upon the scene of the collision further down the road.

He said: "He negotiated the turns without issue, I had no evidence of him being unable to control [the car], no swaying, no weaving, nothing to cause me concern other than speed.

According to Authorised Professional Practice guidance for police forces, the definition of a pursuit is when a car or motorcycle refuses to stop and the police driver continues to drive behind the vehicle to report its progress or to stop it.

The inquest at Birmingham and Solihull Coroners' Court, continues.

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