Avon and Somerset Police is being investigated over the death of a teenage girl on the M5. The 17-year-old, who was named on Thursday as Tamzin Hall from Wellington, was struck by a car on the motorway between Bridgwater and Taunton after exiting a police vehicle on Monday, November 11.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said Ms Hall was being taken into custody in Bridgwater from an address in Taunton at the time. The police car stopped on the northbound carriageway between junctions 25 and 24 just before 11pm on Monday. Tamzin then got out of the car and was involved in a collision with a vehicle driven by a member of the public on the southbound carriageway.
Paramedics were called and arrived within minutes but Tamzin died at the scene. The IOPC has launched an investigation into Avon and Somerset Police following her death.
IOPC Director David Ford said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.
“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues. Our role is to independently investigate all the circumstances surrounding this incident.
“As soon as we were notified by Avon and Somerset Police, we sent our investigators to the police post incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.”
The investigation is in its early stages so far, the IOPC said. Officers involved have made their initial accounts and the IOPC is gathering statement from a number of witnesses. The watchdog added that the coroner has been informed and a post-mortem was carried out on Thursday, November 14.