A young police officer who was seriously injured while attending a crash has died in hospital. Northumbria Police's Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine today paid tribute to PC Jess Turnbull, who passed away yesterday, saying she made the 'ultimate sacrifice' to keep communities safe.
Incident Details
The 19-year-old officer, who joined the force last September, was allegedly struck by a black Mercedes CLC while responding to a collision on the A189 in Cramlington, Northumberland, on Monday night. The Mercedes was not involved in the original crash.
Chief Constable Jardine expressed the force's mourning, stating: 'It is with deep sadness that we share the tragic news that police officer Jess Turnbull has died in the line of duty. This is an extremely tragic incident where Jess lost her life while serving and protecting our communities.'
Tributes and Investigation
Jess was taken to hospital after the incident, where she died surrounded by her loved ones. The flag at Northumbria Police headquarters in Wallsend is flying at half-mast. A 73-year-old man arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving has been re-arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and released on bail.
Jess was attending a report of a collision between a Land Rover Freelander and a Ford Explorer at around 11:10 pm on Monday when she was struck while outside a marked police car. The road was closed for over 16 hours.
Northumbria Police asks that tributes be left at the flagpole outside headquarters, not at the scene, for safety reasons. Witnesses are urged to contact police quoting reference NP-20260608-1198.
