Seven police officers were injured yesterday in a crash during a pursuit that closed part of the A1 on Tyneside.
The collision with a BMW happened near Denton Burn, Newcastle, Northumbria Police said.
Five police vehicles were involved in the pursuit, with pictures of the crash site showing four marked cars badly damaged – one with its roof off – and a car on its side, with debris scattered across the northbound carriageway.
A man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, with a woman, also aged in her 20s, arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting dangerous driving.
The road between Swalwell, in Gateshead, and Denton, Newcastle, was reopened in both directions after being closed for several hours.
Northumbria Police said officers attempted to stop the BMW in the Whickham area of Gateshead over “concerns about the manner it was being driven”.
It was later sighted in the Swalwell area and a pursuit was “authorised”, the force added.
The officers were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and four have been discharged, while two remain for observation and one is being treated for a leg injury.
The two occupants of the BMW were not injured.
Supt Michelle Caisley said work was underway to determine the full circumstances of the crash and asked people “to avoid speculation both online and in the community which could impact the investigation”.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it had not received a referral about the case yet and it was for the force to decide if the incident met the criteria for one.
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