UK driver runs over girl in bid to avoid traffic fine

London:  A teenage girl was knocked down and killed on Sunday by a car seconds after police began pursuing it because the driver was not wearing a seat belt.

Jessica Harrison, 17, died when a Ford Escort mounted the pavement and struck her. Seconds earlier, the car had sped off after a marked patrol car switched on its lights to attract the driver's attention.

Officers had noticed that the car's driver was not wearing a seat belt.

Jessica was taken to University Hospital of North Staffordshire after the incident on Sunday but died later that evening.

On Monday night two men, aged 22 and 24, were being quizzed on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving in the market town of Cheadle, near Stoke-on-Trent.

A police source said the car had been at traffic lights when the patrol car pulled up behind it.

Officers noticed the driver was not wearing a seat belt and switched on their flashing blue lights to signal the driver they wanted him to pull over, but the car drove away at speed.

Police abandoned the pursuit to help the victim.

The source said: "We are talking only a matter of seconds between the police car switching on its blue lights and the collision."

It is unclear whether this happened before or after the traffic lights changed to green.

A police spokesman would also not confirm if the patrol car's siren had been activated, but a woman who lives four houses down from the crash site said: "I heard the sirens coming round the corner. I looked out of the window and saw the red Escort speeding past.

"It looked as if there was going to be an accident. I ducked down, because I couldn't bear to look.

"Using your sirens for not wearing a seat belt in rural areas like this is ridiculous."

Jessica lived with her father, Paul, a mechanic, at Tean, five miles away.

Harrison was being comforted by a police family liaison officer and was too upset to comment.