Locals have described the ‘eerie’ scenes that took over their residential street after a man was hit by a police car following a chase in Rochdale.
At around 3.25am today (November 19) a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) car 'requested' a vehicle to stop on Milnrow Road. The driver did not stop and a 'short pursuit' followed which continued onto Rochdale Road in the Firgrove area of the town. It was there that a collision happened between the police car and a pedestrian who is now fighting for his life.
The man's condition at Salford Royal Hospital has been described by police as 'critical'. No age for him has been released by the force.
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One resident who has lived on Rochdale Road for 11 years said he heard a ‘bang and a commotion’ in the early hours but that when he went to look nothing was there except a ‘crumpled’ police car.
“I walked out at about 3.30am and there was a police car and it was crumpled but there was nothing else around. There were no cars or police, they had just disappeared. It was eerie. I must have missed the actual incident by about ten minutes.It was weird,” he said.
He added that he saw forensic officers combing the road and sweeping the area later that morning.
Another resident said she also heard a ‘bang’ in the early hours of the morning and saw ‘a lot of police’ on the road when she looked out her bedroom window to see what had happened.
“This is the first major incident that I’ve seen on this road and I’ve lived here since 2018,” she added.
Her neighbour in the adjoining house said she was not woken by the bang but saw ‘chaos’ on the road when she got up at around 7am.
“The police had blocked the road and there was debris. I walked across to Asda but then I couldn’t get back because they were doing forensics and finger tip searches” she said.
On her way to Asda she saw ‘bits of a damaged car’ and a badly damaged police car on Rochdale Road.
In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: "Around 3.25am on Sunday 19 November 2023, officers in a police vehicle requested a vehicle to stop in Rochdale.
"The driver failed to stop and a short police pursuit commenced on Milnrow Road and continued onto Rochdale Road, where a collision occurred between the police vehicle and a pedestrian.
"The vehicle failed to stop at the scene of the collision. Officers provided medical assistance to the injured pedestrian, who was taken to Salford Royal Hospital, where they remain in a critical condition.
"A scene has been established and enquiries are ongoing to locate the male driver who made off. In-line with normal procedure, referrals have been made to GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate and the Independent Office for Police Conduct."
