A POLICE officer has been clear of any wrongdoing following a horror crash which saw one man die and a second man seriously injured.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an inquiry in the aftermath of the crash at 1.23am on September 29, 2018, which saw Jahed Islam, 25, lose control of his Mazda and plough into a building shortly after the officer in a marked police car had called off the high-speed pursuit.

Preston Crown Court heard that Islam was driving at nearly two-and-a-half times the speed limit, along Colne Road in Burnley, when he clipped a taxi and his Mazda car struck the building near the junction with Hebrew Road, Preston Crown Court was told.

His front-seat passenger, Yasir Khan, 23, suffered “catastrophic” chest injuries and was killed in the collision, the court heard.

And the rear seat passenger, Sajjad Bhatti was left with a broken sternum, fractures to his legs, a collapsed lung and had his back broken in four places.

Last year Islam, of of Burns Street, Burnley, was jailed for 11 years and nine months after admitting to causing the death of Mr Hamin by dangerous driving, causing serious injury to Mr Mr Bhatti and having no insurance.

And the IOPC has confirmed it has concluded its own investigation, after obtaining a detailed account from the officer involved, along with a copy of the transcript of the police interview with the driver of the Mazda. They also examined CCTV footage and transcriptions of the radio transmissions between the officer and the control room and reviewed data recorded by the police vehicle as well as the collision investigation report.

An IOPC spokesman said: "The activation of the police vehicle emergency equipment appeared to have influenced the way the driver of the Mazda was driving, however, it was not possible to state whether the collision would have been avoided had the officer not activated his emergency equipment. Evidence showed that the driver of the Mazda was driving at speed before then.

"The officer explained his decision making around initiating a pursuit and his decision to almost immediately abandon the pursuit. The police vehicle reached a peak speed of 65mph which was momentary before the vehicle began to brake and reduce its speed. There is no evidence to suggest that the officer acted in a manner that was outside of his driver training, or contrary to professional practice or the force’s vehicle pursuit policy.

"Based on the evidence available we found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, or had committed a criminal offence.

"We completed our investigation in May 2019 but waited until we received confirmation in early 2020 that the inquest into the death of the Mazda’s passenger would not resume before publishing its outcomes."

Lancashire Police declined to comment.