Police watchdog investigates Bradford hit and run death
The police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, is independently investigating the involvement police had with a car before and after a crash which killed a 12-year-old boy.
Bilal Khizar died after being struck by a car on Rooley Lane on Saturday 6 October.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. The car also collided with other vehicles.
The IPCC wants to speak to anyone who saw a Seat Ibiza that had been seen by police and pulled-over in a lay-by.
A maroon Seat, registration number EF59 ULN, was first seen by police at 6.45pm at the junction of Fenby Avenue and Sticker Lane in Bradford. Police followed it up Sticker Lane then into Rooley Lane. The car and police travelled along Rooley Lane and on to the M606 until the Chain Bar roundabout.
It is important that the events that led up to and followed this tragic incident are investigated fully and that we understand the exact nature of the contact between the police and this car. That is why the IPCC needs anyone who saw the Seat Ibiza to contact us.
Two people appeared in court today following the death of a 12-year-old boy who was killed in a suspected hit-and-run in Bradford.
Bilal Raffey Khizar was knocked down by a car which had been followed by police in the city on Saturday. Zain Khan appeared before magistrates charged with causing death by dangerous driving, while Sara Hughes is charged with perverting the course of justice.
The pair, both aged 21 and from Halifax, were remanded in custody until next week, when they will appear at Crown Court.
School friends of a 12-year-old boy killed in a hit and run incident in Bradford have held special assemblies to remember Bilal Khizar described as a unique and popular boy. The Bradford Academy pupil died on a pedestrian crossing after he was hit by a car police had stopped in a lay-by.
Detectives have been given further time by magistrates to question a 21-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman arrested in connection with the death of Bilal Raffey Khizar.
"The tragic loss of Bilal Khizar on Saturday night is a devastating blow for everyone connected with this beautiful and unique boy. Everyone at Bradford Academy, and indeed everyone in the community we serve, is grieving for Bilal, and for his family and his friends.
"Everyone at Bradford Academy - pupils, staff and parents - are united in grief over the tragic event. We wil do our utmost to console Bilal's two brothers (Aafacq (Year 12) and Zain (Year10) and his sisterNeha (Year 1) who are pupils here, as well as the all the other children and staff who knew, loved and respected Bilal.
"It is exceedingly difficult for our pupils to understand that Bilal was taken away from them while doing an everyday, routine task.
"He was a super and capable young lad, his future was wide open for him. He did what he should, crossing a road where he should. His tragic death will touch everyone in the community.
"I promise that Bradford Academy will do whatever we can for the family. But I also promise we will press for - and achieve - greater road safety measures. Although this happened outside of school and school hours, the impact will be felt in our school for years to come."
– Gareth Dawkins, Executive Principal, Bradford Academy
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has been called in after the death of Bilal Raffey Khizar on a crossing near Asda on Rooley Lane in Bradford. An investigator is undertaking an independent assessment into the police role into Bilal's death.
The police had pulled over a Seat Ibiza and as the officers approached, the car made off at speed, and hit the 12-year-old. The car did not stop and continued onto the Chain Bar roundabout, where it collided with two other vehicles. The car was later found on Westfield Lane.
Two people have been arrested and police are still appealing for witnesses.
