Two cyclists killed, driver arrested

[TonyR]

Another tragic double death reported last night with the BMW driver involved arrested. The wording is very opaque and implies there was more to it than a collision.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-26184164

[eileithyia]

Ouch! Thoughts with the families and friends.

[Geriatrix]

Ouch! Thoughts with the families and friends.

+1

Police have arrested the driver reported themselves to the IPCC.

[AndyBSG]

Just read that this morning.

From the wording it seems the police were pursuing the BMW in question when it hit the cyclists.

[Pugwash]

it sounds like there is more to this than is written, the salient fact is two people who woke up yesterday will not be waking up this morning.

My thoughts are with the families and friends of those killed, for a community already struggling with the flooding this is just awful. I hope the police and CPS bring the full force of the law as is necessary.

[yakdiver]

RIP Condolances to both family's and friends

[StellaLdn.]

So tragic and unnecessary. My thoughts are with the family and friends. That driver must have literally run them over. (profanity of your choice.)

[thirdcrank]

The wording is very opaque and implies there was more to it than a collision. ...

Yes. The loss of human life is immeasurably more important than any other issues, but it's natural to want to know something about what happened. Unfortunately, everybody in authority is so concerned not to say anything "wrong" that this caution takes on the air of a cover up.

IMO, one sad aspect is that if two people had been shot, as a society, we'd probably have regarded it as much worse than their being killed in a road "accident/incident" or call it what you will.

[Ayesha]

The wording is very opaque and implies there was more to it than a collision. ...

Yes. The loss of human life is immeasurably more important than any other issues, but it's natural to want to know something about what happened. Unfortunately, everybody in authority is so concerned not to say anything "wrong" that this caution takes on the air of a cover up.

IMO, one sad aspect is that if two people had been shot, as a society, we'd probably have regarded it as much worse than their being killed in a road "accident/incident" or call it what you will.

If two people were shot, it would have been deliberate and murder.
There are exceptions however, as in the Birmingham gangland shooting incident years ago. Two girls walked unintentionally into the line of fire.

This is where the cyclists were in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like the two girls in Brum.

My condolencies.

[eileithyia]

More here:

http://news.sky.com/story/1211473/two-c ... hase-crash

[mercalia]

Not another one

about time that killers like this have to work for the family they killed for the rest of their lives to support them as a penance. A short time in prison too good.

[661-Pete]

A terrible tragedy, and a nightmare scenario against which the cyclist - or any other vulnerable road user - is powerless.
Assuming this was a police chase, I have strong thoughts about that topic as well, but perhaps it's best to put them in a separate thread.

[Tonyf33]

This isn't going to be a popular post but oh well....

So a report of 'fear for welfare' now gets blues and twos and a high speed pursuit? What does 'fear for welfare' mean exactly?

I hope it is more than just a bit of a scuffle because unless it is a direct threat of life then to me a high speed pursuit would seem overtly over the top when there is a huge risk of endangering others by taking such action which further increases any risks the assailents may have taken in the first instance without the police upping the ante..

it sickens me when I watch these 'celebrity' cops chasing a couple of lads on a moped/cross bike in their own locality whom whilst they are breaking the law and being a bit of a nuisance are extremely unlikely to harm anyone (any more so than insured/licensed motorists whom seem to kill 10 TIMES as many as uninsured/untraced)..until in comes PC Scothern (other celebrity cops are available) and his mob and take off at high speed to chase down these heinous offenders. There then follows helicopters and other vehicles increasing the chasing party and the scallywags go into flight mode taking more and more chances to get away..it's at this point that the risks to the general public are VASTLY increased.
It looks pretty clear to me and others that from the police footage alone the chances the police take for relatively low level crimes vastly outweighs the safety of the public...

I really hope there is some sound and proper justification for the pursuit, because two poor sods have had their lives exstinguished as a result of that pursuit, with no one chasing they would be still alive, I'm pretty sure of that.

RIP

[kwackers]

I really hope there is some sound and proper justification for the pursuit, because two poor sods have had their lives exstinguished as a result of that pursuit, with no one chasing they would be still alive, I'm pretty sure of that.

RIP

The basic benefit of pursuits isn't in the individual pursuits, it's in the idea that the police will be willing to try to catch you and thus act as a deterrent to others.
I guess you have to decide whether you want the roads policed or not (or rather less policed than the minimum they are at the moment).

As sad as this case is, fortunately it's pretty rare and I'd suggest somewhat rarer than your typical joyrider taking people out. In my opinion I fail to see how the police simply giving up every time some scally floors the throttle will improve road safety.
(There's also the assumption he was being chased, that's by no means certain).

[Tonyf33]

But that's the problem though isn't it..there doesn't seem to me that there is much in the way of a deterrant (of being pursued). People will either pull over at the earliest signs of indication by the police or they won't. There's two distinct camps, the first lot (the vast majority) wouldn't even think of driving away from the police. So the notion that a pursuit is some form of deterrant doesn't hold true IMO.

As for wanting the roads to be policed, yes of course I do, that goes without saying, but there absolutely has to be judgements made on what risks should be taken for certain levels of offences, a lack of visible policing and the police attitude to vulnerable road users when they are threatened and/or harmed is also part of of the problem.

When you say rare can you be more specific, the only article I saw was a few years back and in that it warned of the use of police pursuits and the disastrous effects. At the time of printing 'in pursuit' deaths were 26 for that year plus another 6 deaths by the police themselves on the way to 999 calls.. I'd hardly call 31 lives lost in one year that 'rare' tbh, would you?