Cop who followed BMW denies he was pursuing car

A POLICE officer who followed a BMW before it crashed into a tree, killing the driver, has denied he was in pursuit of the vehicle before the incident, an inquest has heard.

- STEPHANIE WAREHAM

Muhammad Qasim's vehicle came to the attention of PC Paul Withers of West Midlands Police in the early hours of October 2, 2023, because it was speeding, the officer told an inquest into the 29-year-old’s death.

Mr Qasim died of “catastrophic” head injuries at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital hours after his BMW failed to negotiate a left-hand bend and crashed into a tree on a central reservation in Island Road, Handsworth.

The inquest, in front of a jury of four women and seven men at Birmingham Coroner's Court, heard on Wednesday that Mr Qasim had been one and a half times over the drink-drive limit, had recently used cannabis and was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision.