Police Chase Death Inquest Begins

An inquest into the death of a mother of three from Pontefract following a collision believed to be caused by a police pursuit of a drugs dealer will begin on Monday, March 3 at Wakefield Coroners Office.

Leah Van der Wal was the passenger in her husband’s Nissan Almera in March 2005 when the car was shunted into the path of an oncoming sprinter van, which was travelling towards the M62 motorway.

Leah sustained severe head injuries and despite being airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary she never regained consciousness and died aged 27.

At the time of the incident West Yorkshire Police had been in pursuit of Carl Freeman, who was later found to be carrying 50 kgs, worth £214,000, of cannabis resin in his vehicle. Mr Freeman was subsequently convicted for possession of a class C drug with intent to supply.

Mr Freeman, who had been under police surveillance, had stopped in a lay-by when several plain clothed police officers tried to arrest him but he managed to escape in his van.

Andrew Van der Wal was driving past the lay-by to visit a relative in hospital when he saw the incident and manoeuvred his car into the central reservation to try and keep out of the way.  During the pursuit, a police van and that of Mr Freeman collided. This collision shunted Mr Van der Wal’s car into the path of the sprinter van.

The original inquest was due to be held in December 2006 but after evidence was given by one witness, issues concerning the conduct of the police were raised  and the inquest was adjourned so that a jury could be sworn in.

Carolyn Heaton, a Solicitor at law firm Irwin Mitchell is representing the family. She said: “The inquest is expected to determine the circumstances surrounding Leah’s death and provide some clarity as to what actually happened in terms of the sequence of the collisions.

“For various reasons, it has taken a long time to get to the stage where the inquest can at last be heard in full and hopefully it will provide answers which will help Mr Van der Wal and his family to find some closure to what has been a very difficult and sad period in their lives.”