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Abstract

The family of a teenager killed in a road crash during a police chase face an agonisingly long wait for answers about the circumstances surrounding his death.

Lewis Johnson, 18, from Holloway, was travelling on a white Vespa scooter when he crashed into a van at Clapton Common on February 10 after a two-mile pursuit by two police cars. Another man, aged 20, who was on the back of the scooter, was injured in the crash. Lewis, a talented footballer, died at the scene.

At a preliminary hearing of the inquest into the teenager’s death yesterday (Thursday) a date for a full jury inquest was set for September next year – 19 months after the crash.

Coroner Mary Hassell told Lewis’s mother Ann and sister Demi, who were at Poplar Coroner’s Court: “I am so sorry you’re looking at a date like this. It’s terrible for the family of a young man who died in February 2016. It’s awful.”

The coroner criticised the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating the crash, after a solicitor for the watchdog said its final report will not be ready before February 2017.

“I am absolutely horrified,” Ms Hassell said. “That boy died in February 2016.” Solicitor Andre Clovis said Lewis’s family were “very disappointed” with the timing. “However, provided in the meantime there is a full, thorough and robust investigation by the IPCC, the family understand the need to be patient so all necessary evidence is gathered and examined before being placed before the court,” he added.

An IPCC spokeswoman said: “We are conducting a full and thorough investigation.” Scotland Yard said that on February 10, police were called to reports that the moped Lewis was riding had made off after a suspected snatch theft in Dalston. Officers spotted a moped nearby fitting the description given.

Following a two-mile chase the moped collided with a van at Clapton Common. A police constable driving one of two police cars chasing Lewis has been served with a gross misconduct notice and advised he is under criminal investigation. The Tribune understands this officer could face a death by dangerous driving charge if the IPCC passes on a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which in turn can decide to prosecute.

The launch of a criminal investigation does not mean charges will necessarily follow.

A sergeant driving the second police car has also been served with a gross misconduct notice and told he is under criminal investigation. Three other officers travelling in the pursuing cars have been served with gross misconduct notices. These do not imply guilt.

Yesterday’s hearing comes weeks after the Met launched gross misconduct proceedings against four officers who chased Angel teenager Henry Hicks in unmarked cars before he fatally crashed his moped in 2014.

Louis Kyriacou, 20, of Islington, who was on the moped with Lewis, has been charged with theft offences and will stand trial in November.