Police in pursuit of stolen car which 'flew through the air' injuring a child and five adults

POLICE were pursuing a stolen car involved in a "horrific" crash in north Belfast which led to a child and five adults being taken to hospital, it has been confirmed.

A 19-year-old man who is understood to have been a back seat passenger in the black Audi A1 sustained the most serious injuries in the collision near the Ardoyne shops just before 7pm on Tuesday.

He was taken into theatre in the Royal Victoria Hospital with chest injuries and internal bleeding within 10 minutes of being brought in by paramedics.

Sources had told the Irish News that the car was being chased by police from Cliftonville Road and the PSNI has today confirmed it was a stolen car and police had been in pursuit.

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Superintendent Muir Clark said officers had responded to "a number of reports" of a black Audi being driven erratically in north Belfast.

"Specially trained police officers subsequently located the stolen car. The car failed to stop, made off and police initiated a pursuit. The car crashed a short time later.

“As is normal practice, The Police Ombudsman’s Office have been notified and are currently investigating the circumstances leading up to the collision therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further pending the outcome of that investigation.” 

Supt Clark said the car, registration GD18 SJU, had been reported stolen from Thirlmere Gardens in north Belfast at 2.30am on Sunday July 1 and appealed for witnesses to the crash or anyone who knew of the vehicle's whereabouts between the theft and the time of the accident to get in touch.

Five other cars – including one driven by a learner – were hit as the stolen vehicle sped down Crumlin Road yesterday evening.

Upstairs windows of homes were smashed and trees were uprooted.

One man sitting on a bench outside his front door had to “jump for his life” as the speeding vehicle smashed his front wall. He described the scene as “carnage”.

Another witness working in the nearby Spar told The Irish News she heard a “scraping, grating sound” and looked out to see a car “up in the air”.

“I could see two boys’ heads hanging out the window bleeding and then I heard everyone screaming. People dragged them out of the car. It was horrific,” student Chloe McLaughlin (20) said.

“There were loads of young kids running around and a little girl came in screaming and put her arms around me. It was horrible.”

Five ambulances attended the scene, with the upturned Audi lying in front of the shops – near the spot where an Orangeman drove into a crowd and a teenage girl was trapped under a car and seriously injured in July 2015.

Fire crews, police and an air ambulance crew were also present – as hundreds of people looked on in disbelief.

Four men, one woman and a child were taken to Belfast hospitals.

The child was discharged while the woman’s condition was not described as serious.

On Tuesday night a Belfast health trust spokeswoman confirmed that one man’s condition was critical, while three other patients were stable. Another man was discharged.

The crash came just months after mother-of-two Lisa Gow was killed by a stolen car on Ballysillan Road in north Belfast.

SDLP councillor Paul McCusker was at the scene. He spoke of “shock and anger” among the community.

“There could have been multiple deaths here tonight,” he said.

“It was only three months ago that a woman was killed on the Ballysillan road following an incident with a stolen car. We are calling on the criminal justice system to do more as so many of these drivers are getting bail and reoffending.”

The Crumlin Road was closed overnight but re-opened on Wednesday morning.