Spontaneous police pursuit “significantly contributed” to collision which resulted in the deaths of Ryan Duffy and Ellie Marsden, inquest jury concludes

The couple died when the Citroen Berlingo van in which they were travelling left Long Rigg, near Kingsmeaburn, Cumbria, and was in collision with a tree in the early hours of 5 September 2021.  

PC Craig Stevenson of Cumbria Constabulary had pursued Ryan’s van from Appleby town centre to Long Rigg, where the fatal collision happened. 
 
The inquest heard that PC Stevenson, a response officer on mobile patrol in Appleby town centre that night, was trained to follow and stop, but prohibited to pursue vehicles. At no point did the officer activate his emergency blue lights.  
 
The inquest jury at Carlisle Coroner’s Court found that on the balance of probabilities the police vehicle was engaged in a spontaneous police pursuit (which the driver was not trained for) which contributed to causing the crash.

PC Stevenson told the inquest that he stopped following the van 170 yards from the site of the fatal collision and turned around his vehicle when it became clear to him that the Berlingo driver was aware of his presence.  
 
The police officer followed the Berlingo the wrong way down a one-way street and back out of Appleby towards the rural back roads. PC Stevenson said his purpose in following the vehicle was to stop the passengers to have a word about the contravention of the one-way street. 
 
He accepted that he thought the driver may be aware of his presence the second time the Berlingo drove past the Appleby Castle hotel, where Ryan and Ellie had booked and paid for a room to stay in that night, and back into Appleby town centre. 
 
He said he followed the van until he turned into Brackenslack Lane at Long Rigg.  
PC Stevenson said the last place he had sight of the vehicle was somewhere along Long Rigg but he could not be sure of the exact point. 
 
Upon turning off Long Rigg on to Brackenslack Lane, the inquest heard the audio of the airwave transmission of PC Stevenson’s call to control where he said ‘just had a vehicle make off from me on the back roads from Appleby.’ He said he could not get close enough to see the make or the registration of vehicle, but said ‘it is obvious he saw me in the rear- view mirror.’ 
  
He told the inquest he accepted that while still in Appleby, he should have activated the blue light on his police vehicle and given that he did not, he should have pulled over and stopped following Ryan’s van. 
  
A Forensic Collision Investigator of Cumbria Constabulary confirmed that the tyre steering marks where Ryan’s vehicle left the road suggested that Ryan misjudged the bend in the road and failed to negotiate it.  
 
The officer said his view was that Ryan was likely impaired or distracted, or both. He suggested that an impaired driver could be more easily distracted. Ryan’s toxicology showed the presence of drugs and alcohol in his system. 
 
Following the conclusion of the inquest, Ryan Duffy’s family issued a statement: 
 
Ryan’s mother Karen Duffy said: 
 
“We as a family began this process wanting to know the truth about how a happy night away for a young couple turned out to have (as the coroner himself termed it) profoundly tragic consequences. 
  
“Thanks to the unwavering efforts of Ellie's family and the support and legal expertise of Christian Weaver, barrister and Leanne Devine, solicitor, and Ellie Riley (both of Leigh Day) and the coroner and his officers, we now hopefully have some version of that truth. 
  
“There are no winners in this situation - two beautiful souls still lost their lives on that fateful night. 
  
“We as a family can only hope that lessons can be learnt from this to ensure other families do not have to suffer the agonies of loss as we have. 
  
“Actions can have devastating consequences and laws, rules and guidelines are there to protect us all and cannot be open to personal interpretation or manipulation. 
  
“No other family should be made to go through what we have had to endure for the last three and a half years and the years yet to come. The fact that the jury have concluded that a pursuit, by an officer who was prohibited from undertaking pursuits “significantly contributed” to the collision is something we find deeply saddening. 
 
“Ryan was an amazing young man who loved life and had so many dreams and hopes for the future, he was so loved by family and friends and all who knew him - he will be missed always.” 
 
Ryan’s family is represented by Leanne Devine, partner at law firm Leigh Day.  
 
Leanne Devine said: 

“When Ryan’s mother instructed Leigh Day, she wanted support with the inquest process to try and have answers to the many questions she had around what happened to Ryan and Ellie on the tragic night that they lost their lives.  Ryan’s mother  wanted the police to consider whether anything should have been done differently, in particular, whether the vehicle should have been pulled up at an earlier stage.  The jury’s conclusion that the unauthorised police pursuit significantly contributed to the death of her son is a complete vindication of the concerns she has held on to since Ryan’s death.” 
 
Leanne instructed Barrister, Christian Weaver, of Garden Court North Chambers to question witnesses at the inquest into Ryan’s death