Watchdog to investigate actions of police after pursuit in Wigan which ended in tragedy

Kathleen Ann Kirby died in hospital on Monday, after being fatally injured while walking along Bolton Road in Ashton.

She was hit by a van, which had been in a collision with an Audi car being pursued by the police.

She was described as a “rock” by her family, who said their hearts would be “broken forever” in a moving tribute.

Greater Manchester Police have arrested a man and said the incident had been referred to both its professional standards branch and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) “in-line with normal procedure”.

A spokesman for the IOPC has now confirmed that they are looking into what happened and the actions of the police.

They said: “We can confirm we have decided to investigate Greater Manchester Police actions prior to a fatal road traffic collision.

“We were informed that at around 2.40pm a Mercedes van collided with a woman pedestrian in Bolton Road after the van had been struck by a suspect Audi car that had made off from police moments earlier.

“We understand a police car had briefly pursued the Audi prior to the collision. The woman, in her 60s, was taken to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead there later.

“An independent investigation was declared at 6.30pm and we sent investigators to the scene and to the police post incident procedure to begin our enquiries.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.