A 60-year-old woman has died after an alleged assault on a bus in Hartlepool, prompting a manslaughter investigation. Cleveland Police has arrested a 26-year-old woman on suspicion of manslaughter, and she remains in police custody.
Incident on York Road
At around 9.30am on Tuesday, October 13, a confrontation broke out between two women on board a bus. Several passengers reportedly attempted to intervene and separate the pair. The 60-year-old woman left the bus on York Road and passed away shortly afterwards. Her next of kin has been notified, and a Home Office post mortem is scheduled to determine the cause of death.
Coral Bookmakers on York Road has been cordoned off, and the bus has been seized as part of the investigation. A crime scene investigation van was seen parked behind the betting shop on Tuesday afternoon.
Appeal for witnesses
Detectives are urging anyone who was on the bus or witnessed the altercation to come forward. Detective Chief Inspector John Bonner, from Cleveland Police's Homicide and Major Investigation Team, said: "We are in the early stages of the investigation to establish what took place before the woman died and to establish the cause of her death."
"I am therefore keen to hear from anyone who was on the number seven bus at the time and saw two women having an altercation or perhaps has footage and information on what took place. From footage reviewed so far we believe a number of passengers tried to break up the assault." He added: "If you can help, no matter how small you think the information might be, please get in touch either by calling 101 or visiting our website quoting reference number 205074."
Emergency response and appeal
The North East Ambulance Service confirmed crews were dispatched at 9.38am. Two ambulance teams, a clinical team leader, and a specialist paramedic attended the scene. Photographs from Tuesday show police tape sealing off both the front and rear of the bookmakers, with two police vehicles still parked at the rear at approximately 2.45pm.
Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or through their website. Footage can be submitted via the Cleveland Investigate community portal.
