The police officer was driving over 70mph on the 30mph road
A Metropolitan Police officer was driving at around 80mph on the wrong side of a road in Eltham, South East London, before a crash which killed a pregnant woman, a court heard. Mariam Ahmed, 38, died when her Volkswagen Polo was involved in a high-speed collision on Eltham Road on October 17 2024. Her unborn child did not survive the collision.
Pc Chris Johnson, 56, and former Pc Danny Tomkins, 35, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (May 28) and spoke to confirm their names, addresses and dates of birth.
Prosecuting, Catherine Farrelly KC said both men had been on duty at the time of the incident and were driving separate vehicles over 70mph on a 30mph road moments before the collision. Johnson, of Tonbridge, was driving the vehicle involved in the collision, and reached “somewhere in the region of 80mph”, the court heard.
“He appeared to have accelerated to the maximum capability of the vehicle he was driving,” said Ms Farrelly. At the point of impact, Johnson, who has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, was at around 50mph, “breaking to the maximum”, the prosecution said.
Tomkins, who has denied dangerous driving, was driving a second police vehicle which was not involved in the collision. He overtook Ms Ahmed at 78mph before the crash, the court heard.
Ms Farrelly said: “The two of them were on duty as part of a pre-planned deployment targeting vehicles that were suspected to be involved in criminal activity.”
Ms Ahmed was travelling in the same direction on the same road as the officers, and had indicated to turn off before the collision, the court heard. The force has said Johnson is attached to the Met’s Taskforce. Tomkins was attached to the same unit at the time of the incident, but has since left.
The charges follow an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which began a probe following a mandatory referral from the Met. The two men have been granted unconditional bail, and will next appear at the Old Bailey on June 25.
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