Man dies after entering floodwater during police pursuit

A man has died after he entered floodwater near the village of Egginton while evading police.

Officers had been pursuing a vehicle towing a caravan that was believed to have been stolen from Oakerthorpe.

During the pursuit, in the early hours of Saturday 14 February, the occupants of the vehicle rammed police cars and eventually came to a stop near Egginton, South Derbyshire.

Both men fled the vehicle and one was arrested a short time later. The second man entered the flooded Egginton Brook, near the junction of Main Street and Ash Grove Lane.

After extensive searches by police and Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service over several hours, the man was recovered from the water. He was treated by ambulance crews at the scene and taken to Royal Derby Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

As the death happened after police contact, we have referred ourselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Formal identification of the deceased man has not yet taken place and efforts are ongoing to trace his next of kin.

Adrian Osiecki, 34 and from Harnall Lane West, Coventry, has been charged with:

• Dangerous driving, including failing to stop for police and criminal damage to police vehicles.
• Driving without insurance.
• Driving while disqualified.
• Theft of a caravan.

He is due to appear at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on Monday 16 February.