POLICE were not to blame for the death of a 27-year-old father-of-three who died after crashing into a lamppost while being chased, a watchdog has ruled.
Frank Drury died at Leighton Hospital shortly after the 600cc Suzuki bike he was riding collided with a street light on Northwich Road, Weaverham, at around 3am on July 13 last year.
“Suspicious” officers had been trying to stop Mr Drury, a window cleaner who lived at Caldy Way in Winsford, so the case was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
An inquiry concluded in January there was no evidence the two officers had caused or contributed to the collision. But the findings were only released on Friday after an inquest into Mr Drury’s death, in which a coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure.
The inquest heard police began following Mr Drury at the junction of Burrows Hill and Beach Road in Winnington, but he sped off in the direction of Weaverham.
The police car travelled at speeds of up to 100mph but never got close enough to the motorcycle to tell Mr Drury they wanted him to stop. Eye witnesses said the vehicle arrived on the scene several seconds after the collision.
It transpired Mr Drury did not have a valid driving licence and was not insured.
Ms Naseem Malik, IPCC commissioner for the North West, said: “The officers in this incident acted appropriately in deciding to try to stop the motorcycle. They had suspicions which needed to be investigated and subsequently proved well founded.
“The officers cannot be held in any way accountable for the collision. This was as a result of the motorcycle being driven at high speed and the driver losing control.”
She added: “We will never know whether Mr Drury knew the police car was trying to catch up with him and whether this influenced his driving.”
