Five questions that need to be answered after girl, 17, died on M5

The mum of a 17-year-old girl who died after jumping out of a police car and being run over on a motorway has paid tribute to her ‘very special daughter’, saying she was ‘the most kindest, caring, loving, loyal girl ever’.

Tamzin Hall died at the scene after suffering catastrophic injuries in the collision on the M5 between junction 25 at Taunton and 24 at Bridgwater shortly after 11pm on November 11.

An inquest opening at Wells Town Hall heard she had been under arrest at the time and was travelling in an Avon and Somerset Police car which had stopped on the motorway.

Avon and Somerset Police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) are both investigating the circumstances of the crash.

Here, Metro examines five key questions that need to be answered.

Why was Tamzin arrested?

It emerged during the opening of Tamzin’s inquest this week that she was under arrest at the time she managed to get out of the police vehicle.

The police have yet to confirm what she was being detained for.

The circumstances of her arrest and the reason for it appear to be matters that will be left for the substantive inquest hearing.

That is not likely to take place before 2026.

Samantha Marsh, senior coroner for Somerset, has adjourned the case until a pre-inquest review hearing on November 5 next year, which is the earliest available date due to its complexity.

Why did the police car stop?

We know when and where the police car stopped – on the northbound carriageway between junctions 25 at Taunton and 24 at Bridgwater shortly after 11pm – but we still don’t know why.

There could be a very simple reason, like traffic or lanes being closed due to roadworks.

Or the teenager may have been trying to force her way out of the vehicle, leaving the arresting officers with no option but to pull over again to deal with the situation.

Coroner’s officer Ben Batley told the hearing: ‘Tamzin was a passenger under arrest in a police vehicle travelling on the northbound carriageway on the M5 when it stopped for reasons yet to be established.’

How was she able to get out?

This question follows immediately from the previous one.

It seems inconceivable that Tamzin would have been able to simply lift the door handle and open from the inside.

That brings us back to the question of whether an officer opened it to deal with something, giving Tamzin the opportunity to escape.

Mrs Marsh said background information considered as part of the inquiry would include ‘Tamzin’s presentation, with regard to any potential mental health history’.

The circumstances of Tamzin’s arrest and her transportation, as well as how she left the police car and what happened afterwards will also be examined at the full inquest.

How was she able to cross the road?

Getting out of the police car is one thing.

But how was Tamzin able to then cross the northbound carriageway, clamber over the crash barrier and enter the southbound carriageway where she was run over – all under police supervision?

The police have not confirmed whether the teenager was being restrained with handcuffs at the time.

Why was she being transported from Taunton to Bridgwater?

Tamzin was being driven to a custody suite in Bridgwater by two officers in an Avon and Somerset Police car from an address in Taunton.

It seems to simply be a case that Bridgwater is closer to Taunton than either of the force’s other two custody centres, which are in Keynsham and Patchway in Bristol.

‘Tamzin was my absolute everything’

After today’s hearing, Tamzin’s mother Amy Hall described her eldest daughter as her ‘best friend’ and said the death had left their family ‘devastated’.

‘Tamzin was the most kindest, caring, loving, loyal girl ever. She was the most honest person I’ve ever known; she was very special to me,’ she said.

‘She had a great sense of humour, and we had many laughs together.

‘She was my shadow from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning until she went to sleep at night. She was such an intelligent young girl and had such interesting perceptions on things in life.’

She added: ‘Tamzin was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, so she was unique and saw the world in such a different way.

‘Tamzin was my absolute everything and I can’t believe she isn’t here any more. She was my world.’

Ms Hall said her daughter was ‘always so thoughtful’ and enjoyed the simple things in life, as well as talking, her family and chocolate.

‘Tamzin was such a wonderful daughter. She was a beautiful person,’ she said.

‘My life will never be the same but I’m using my strength for my other children, Tamzin’s siblings.

‘She was only 17 but she has taught me a lot and I can use that memory and hold on to that.

‘I will never ever get over it, she was taken far too young.’

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