Metropolitan Police officer ‘drove on wrong side of road at 80mph’ before crash which killed pregnant woman
A Metropolitan Police officer was driving on the wrong side of the road at around 80mph just before the crash that killed a pregnant woman, the court heard.
Mariam Ahmed’s Volkswagen Polo was involved in a high-speed collision on Eltham Road in south-east London on 17 October 2024.
Ahmed Hanim’s 38-year-old unborn child could not be saved.
Pc Chris Johnson, 56, and former PC Danny Tomkins, 35, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
The couple spoke to confirm their names, addresses and dates of birth.
Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, said both men were on duty and were driving separate vehicles at 70mph at 30mph.
He added that both had overtaken cars by driving at high speed for about 130 meters on the wrong side of the road moments before the crash.
The court heard Johnson, of Tonbridge, was driving the vehicle involved in the collision and reached “a speed of around 80 miles per hour”.
“He appeared to have reached the maximum capacity of the vehicle he was driving,” Ms Farrelly said.
Johnson, who is accused of causing death by dangerous driving at the time of the crash, was traveling around 80 mph and “reached maximum speed,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The court heard Tomkins, who was driving a second police car not involved in the collision, passed Ms Ahmed at 78mph before the crash.
He denied dangerous driving on Thursday.
Ms Farrelly said: “The two were on duty as part of a pre-planned deployment targeting vehicles suspected of being involved in criminal activity.”
The court heard Ms Ahmed was traveling on the same road as the officers and signaled to swerve before the collision.
Police said Johnson was attached to the Met’s Task Force. Tomkins was serving in the same unit at the time of the incident but later left.
The charges follow an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which launched an investigation following the Met’s mandatory referral.
The two men were released on unconditional bail and will appear at the Old Bailey on June 25.
