NORTHUMBRIA POLICE OFFICER DIES FOLLOWING A189 COLLISION

A 19-year-old police officer has died after being struck by a car while responding to a separate road traffic collision in Northumberland.

PC Jess Turnbull, who joined Northumbria Police in September, died in hospital on Wednesday surrounded by her family, according to Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine.

Police say she had been attending a crash involving two vehicles on the A189 near Cramlington at around 11.10 on Monday night, when she was hit by a black Mercedes CLC while out of her marked patrol car. The vehicle was not involved in the original incident.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and has since been bailed. A 73-year-old man was also arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Officers are urging witnesses, or anyone with dashcam footage, to come forward.

Northumbria Police have asked the public not to leave floral tributes at the crash site for safety reasons, instead directing people to force headquarters in Wallsend.

It is understood she is the first Northumbria Police officer to be killed on duty since 2006.