Maryport police van incident under investigation after two 12-year-old girls hurt
An investigation is under way after an unoccupied Cumbria Police van rolled into two 12-year-old girls in Maryport. Leaving one with serious injuries. The incident happened on Senhouse Street just before 6pm on Saturday, April 18th.
One of the girls was taken to hospital by air ambulance and was initially described as being in a critical condition. Cumbria Police has since said she is now in a stable condition. The other girl suffered minor injuries and was discharged from hospital.
What happened
The incident involved a police van that was not occupied at the time it moved. The BBC has reported seeing footage which appears to show the van rolling backwards down the street, hitting three bollards on the pavement before striking the girls.
Cumbria Police previously said the vehicle was not in pursuit and was not responding to an emergency incident at the moment of the collision. The police watchdog has since said officers from the vehicle had been dealing with a separate incident at the time.
Police watchdog now investigating
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the incident. The watchdog said its investigation will be carried out independently of the police and that work is already under way to gather evidence from the scene.
The IOPC has also said it has spoken to the girls’ families and will keep them updated as the investigation continues. Earlier, it said it had been examining CCTV and assessing the circumstances before deciding on its next steps.
Cumbria Police response
Cumbria Police said the driver of the van has been placed on alternative duties while the investigation continues. The force had already referred the incident to the IOPC, which is standard practice in cases involving serious injury and a police vehicle.
Police are also continuing their own enquiries into exactly how the incident happened. Senhouse Street was closed after the collision while investigators worked at the scene.
Concerns from Cumbrian Locals
This incident has caused serious concern in west Cumbria because it involved two young girls on a town street in the early evening. The fact that the vehicle appears to have rolled while unoccupied is also likely to raise wider questions about how the incident happened and whether it could have been prevented. That is an inference based on the nature of the incident and the watchdog investigation.
For local families, the most important update is that the girl who was seriously hurt is now in a stable condition. But with the IOPC now carrying out an independent investigation, there are still major questions to be answered about the events on Senhouse Street.
