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Four people killed in stolen car Police 'pursued' death crash car
(about 7 hours later)
Four people were killed when a stolen car crashed into a fish and chip shop in West Yorkshire. Police were pursuing a stolen car just before it crashed into a chip shop and exploded, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said.
The Subaru burst into flames after the crash on Killinghall Road in Laisterdyke, Bradford, at 0435 GMT. All four people in the Subaru died in the incident on Killinghall Road in Laisterdyke, Bradford, at 0435 GMT.
The shop, Killinghall Fisheries, partially collapsed and is being assessed by structural engineers. Police denied they were using a rolling roadblock, but agreed they were looking for a stolen Subaru in the area.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has been informed because police patrols were in the area at the time of the crash. The incident was referred to the IPCC, which has since said the matter could be investigated by local police.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said IPCC representatives were at the scene. He could not confirm reports that the car was involved in a police pursuit. I could hear someone screaming in the wreckage Witness Zac Hussein According to the IPCC, a police car with blue lights flashing, pursued the Subaru for less than a minute, during which the stolen car was travelling at "high speed".
Ch Supt Alison Rose said the car had been stolen from the Daisy Hill area of Bradford on Wednesday night. It said the police vehicle was some distance behind, but officers remained in sight of the target car all the time.
She said: "An officer at the scene pulled one person from the burning car but they died at the scene. I could hear someone screaming in the wreckage Witness Zac Hussein
"A further three people from the car also died. Nicholas Long, IPCC Commissioner for Yorkshire, said: "Four people died this morning in a tragic incident.
"Obviously this was a terrible incident and the officers who went to the scene have understandably been affected by what they saw and are being supported by colleagues." "My thoughts are with their families at this difficult time.
She said the identity of the four dead people was not yet known, and appealed for witnesses to the incident to come forward. "I am aware the officers first on scene acted with courage in their attempts to rescue the trapped occupants from the vehicle."
Zac Hussein lives nearby and said he witnessed the crash. A witness described seeing a huge fireball when the car smashed into Killinghall Fisheries on Killinghall Road.
West Yorkshire Police statement on the crash Zac Hussein said he saw a number of patrol cars go past, adding: "They moved past where we were parked and no more than eight seconds later we heard a crash and then almost instantly there was this huge fireball.
He said: "My friend and I were sat in the car and we saw police cars moving up the street in a rolling road block.
"They were moving slowly up the road at least two or three abreast. Then they moved past where we were parked and no more than eight seconds later we heard a crash and then almost instantly there was this huge fireball."
Mr Hussein said within seconds of the accident there were at least eight police cars on the scene.
He said: "One of the policemen called for me to get a fire extinguisher but obviously I didn't have one with me.
"I could hear someone screaming in the wreckage. I came down to a phone box and called the fire brigade.""I could hear someone screaming in the wreckage. I came down to a phone box and called the fire brigade."
Mohammed Shaban, 32, who owns the takeaway, said he believed the car had driven into the corner of the building where the gas mains supply was situated. Mr Hussein said within seconds of the accident there were at least eight police cars on the scene, including one unmarked silver car containing what he believed to be a detective.
He said: "There were four people in the car and I think they lost control and hit the side of the building. West Yorkshire Police statement on the crash
"Because of where they hit the building, there was a gas explosion and I heard they all died at the scene. Outside Trafalgar House police station in Bradford, Ch Supt Alison Rose said: "An officer at the scene pulled one person from the burning car, but they died at the scene.
"A further three people from the car also died at the scene.
"This was a terrible incident and the officers who went to the scene have understandably been affected by what they saw and are being supported by colleagues."
Mohammed Shaban, 32, the owner of the Killinghall Fisheries, said he believed the car lost control and crashed into the corner of the building, where the gas mains supply was situated.
"What I've been told by people living around here is that there were police here and they were chasing some car thief," he said.
"There were four people in the car and I think they lost control and hit the side of the building.
"It's very sad. It's bad for me because it affects my business, but it's extremely sad that lives have been lost.""It's very sad. It's bad for me because it affects my business, but it's extremely sad that lives have been lost."
Police said the road was unlikely to reopen on Thursday night.