Young footballer suffered 'unsurvivable' head injury after car flipped during police chase
09.08.2022 - 11:33
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A young footballer suffered an 'unsurvivable' head injury after his car flipped during a police chase, an inquest has heard. Devonte Scott was killed when the Ford Fiesta he was driving smashed into two cars in Urmston Lane in Stretford on the afternoon of May 16 of last year.
On the first day of an inquest at Manchester South Coroner's Court today (Monday), a jury heard the 18-year-old was not wearing a seat belt and was driving without a licence at the time of the crash. Sergeant Matthew Sale, a roads policing officer with Greater Manchester Police, said he and colleague PC Matthew Stemp were on patrol in an unmarked police car when they spotted the Fiesta close behind.
He said he believed Devonte was 'trying to overtake' him and that he appeared to be 'looking at his lap', suggesting he may have been using his mobile phone while driving. Sgt Sale told jurors he decided to pull over to the side of the road to allow the Fiesta to pass.
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But after overtaking the police car at 37mph, jurors were told that Devonte 'continued to accelerate'. Sgt Sale said he signalled for the Fiesta to stop and it pulled to the side of the road before performing a U-turn and driving away in the opposite direction.
He explained that the refusal to stop 'heightened his suspicion' about whether the car was stolen. As officers gave chase, Devonte reached speeds of up to 70mph as he overtook several vehicles along Urmston Lane.
Sgt Sale told the jury he temporarily lost sight of the Fiesta as it sped away. Although he reported the pursuit on his police radio, he admitted he did not disclose the speed that the Fiesta was travelling at.
As Devonte
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