Kent Police is being investigated after a teenage girl died in a horror car crash on Saturday night.
A 17-year-old girl from Ashford died after a Suzuki Swift carrying six teenagers collided with a garden tree in Mundy Bois Road, Egerton, near Ashford, at around 8.20pm.
Three others, aged 17, 18 and 19 were taken to hospital where they remain in a serious but stable condition.
The force made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following the incident, due to a police vehicle being in close proximity at the time of the collision.
Officers have arrested a 19-year-old man from Ashford and a 17-year-old girl from Maidstone, both of whom had previously been discharged from hospital, on suspicion of driving offences.
Both remain in custody while enquiries into the incident continue.
An IOPC spokesperson said: “We have begun an independent investigation into the actions of the police prior to a road traffic incident in Kent in which, sadly, a young woman has died.
“We were notified by Kent Police that at around 8.20pm on Saturday 4 July in Mundy Bois Road, Egerton near Pluckley, police on patrol in a marked vehicle saw a vehicle containing six people that then headed off at speed.
"The police vehicle turned around to follow the vehicle and found it had crashed. Officers called the ambulance service and gave medical assistance at the scene.”
The IOPC said its investigators attended the scene and are now trying to “establish whether or not the police were actively pursuing the vehicle”.
“Our thoughts are with the family of the young woman who has died and all of those affected.”
