Mother and child die when stolen car being chased by police ploughs into family after 'abduction' - before 20 passers-by lift vehicle off trapped twin girls

A mother and child were killed today after a stolen car being chased by police ploughed into a family walking on the pavement.

Some 20 passers-by then lifted the car off two twin seven-year-old girls following the horror crash on the pavement in Penge, South East London, shortly after 2pm.  

Onlookers suggested a baby had been taken earlier on and a woman had rushed through police tape before saying to officers: ‘That's my baby, that's my baby.’  A mother and child were killed after a stolen car being chased by police ploughed into a family walking on the pavement

Witnesses described the panic of the aftermath, with one man who lives near the scene saying: 'It was a horrific scene on a sunny afternoon in a sleepy place.'

Venissa Vassell, 18, heard sirens and a car screeching as she walked from the train station and immediately ran to help.

She said there were twin girls aged around seven trapped under the car and 20 people came to lift the car up to free them.

The girls ‘crawled out’, she said, but another girl, aged around 11, who was later taken away by ambulance, was screaming: 'I can't feel my legs'.

Another woman, believed to be in her late 30s or early 40s, and a ten-year-old boy she was related to, were killed, Ms Vassell said. 

She said: ‘I did CPR on this lady. I blew in her mouth. It wasn't working. Her body was trying to revive.’

Ms Vassell also said that the boy who died was fine one moment, but then ‘by the time I came back to speak to the little girl to say “your brother is alright” he was passed out.

‘You can't physically do nothing to a body that's in that condition.’

She said that the accident ‘all happened too quick’ and she ‘could not explain’ what she saw.   

Another witness said she had heard locally that it was potentially an abduction situation from the local Sainsbury's store.

Tayla Goodman told Sky News she saw ‘children running away’ from the scene in ‘absolute tears, unable to speak’.  

She said: ‘Then a lady ran out across from Penge East station shouting “that's my baby” ... “that's my baby over there”.

‘It just looked like complete carnage. It was absolutely awful to see what happened.’

She said the car was ‘ploughed into the grass bank’ of the housing estate and described people ‘running through’ police tape and screaming. 

Another onlooker at the scene said that a black car was being chased by two police BMWs when the driver lost control as he turned into Lennard Road.

They added: 'He lost control and ploughed into a family that was walking on the pavement down Lennard Road. 

'People were trying to lift a car off a little girl. The police officers that were chasing were distraught.' 

Another witness, who also did not want to be named, said that apart from the two people who died, he saw two child casualties being taken away by ambulance.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘We were called at 2.05pm today, 31 August to reports of a road traffic collision at Lennard Road, SE20.

‘We sent multiple resources to the scene including three ambulance crews, two incident response officers, an advanced paramedic and London’s Air Ambulance.

‘Sadly, a woman and a boy died at the scene. We treated a further three patients, all girls, at the scene for multiple injuries and they were all taken to hospital.’

In Lennard Road this afternoon, a body wrapped in a red blanket could be seen before police erected blue tents.

The black Ford involved in the crash was on a grass verge as a helicopter flew overhead. The road remained closed and several police officers were present. 

The driver of the car has been arrested and remains in custody at a South London police station, while the Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has also been told of what happened, and Scotland Yard said its enquiries into the collision continue.