Spennymoor police pursuit: Mother begged son to slow down

Kelvin Bainbridge died when he got out of a moving car and was hit by a marked police vehicle, an inquest has heard

The mother of a young man who died in a police pursuit has told how she begged her son to stop, an inquest has heard.

Kelvin Bainbridge was hit by a marked police vehicle in October 2019 after he exited a moving car which subsequently crashed in Spennymoor, County Durham.

His mother, Suzanne, a passenger in the car, recalled her son "speeding" in his Nissan Primera when he spotted police.

The first day of the inquest into Mr Bainbridge's death heard how his mother was "screaming for him to slow down".

The hearing heard how police began to pursue the car after Mr Bainbridge failed to stop at Middlestone Moor in Spennymoor, in October 2019.

Following a six-minute pursuit, the 19-year-old got out of the moving car - which then crashed - and was hit by a marked police vehicle.

Hospital visit

In a statement read to the inquest, his mother said she had just attended a hospital appointment in Durham with her son and his pregnant partner for a scan, and her son had been "ecstatic" to find out he and his partner were having a baby boy.

Following the scan, her son was driving her back to Spennymoor when they stopped at a pub in Tudhoe

She said they were in the car park of the Black Horse pub when her son saw a police officer get out of a marked vehicle and come towards them.

She said her son quickly drove off, adding "the whole chase felt like it lasted forever".

"I was screaming for him to slow down," she said. "The whole thing was scary, we were speeding through town and it was 2.30pm in the middle of the day.

"I remember turning round and screaming at the police to 'stop chasing us and Kelvin will pull over'," she said, in her statement.

She said it was too painful to think back on the scene when her son died.

In a separate statement, Kelvin's father, Troy Bainbridge, said Kelvin had not needed to die that day - adding that he should have served a jail term, and could have gone on to make something of his life.

He said: "I know this could have, and should have, ended differently. He should be with us right now."

His parents said Kelvin's upbringing was badly impacted by the death of their son Little Troy, at the age of seven, from leukaemia - when Kelvin was just one year old.

At the time of his death, Mr Bainbridge was a disqualified driver and was wanted in connection with burglary offences

County Durham Senior Assistant Coroner, Crispin Oliver, said, at the time of his death, Mr Bainbridge was a disqualified driver and was wanted by the police in connection with burglary offences.

He said during the police pursuit, Mr Bainbridge got out of the vehicle and was "struck by the pursuing officer's car".

A post-mortem report by pathologist Jennifer Bolton found that he had died of a blunt head injury and his injuries were consistent with him "almost lying down" when he was struck by the police car.

His injuries were "unsurvivable", she said.

The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

In October 2021, the CPS decided not to authorise any further action against the Durham police officer involved in the pursuit.

The inquest, which is expected to last for three weeks, continues.