Moment e-bike rider Saul Cookson is followed by cop car before horror smash that killed him
This is the moment police trailed a 15-year-old e-bike rider just before he was killed in a horror crash.
Saul Cookson died after he struck the front of a moving ambulance on his Sur-Ron e-bike just after 2pm in Salford yesterday – a month after two teenagers were killed after being followed by a police van in Cardiff while riding the same brand.
Today his family paid tribute to ‘the sweetest, kindest boy ever’ after the incident which has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for investigation.
Exclusive CCTV footage obtained by MailOnline shows a cyclist riding down Fitzwarren Street at 14.01pm. A police BMW X5 squad car is then seen following behind four seconds later at what appears to be medium speed.
The police car then goes on to follow Saul down Lower Seedley Road before it was blocked off by bollards.
Greater Manchester Police said the teenager crashed into an ambulance on Langworthy Road ‘a short time later’. Today, the North West Ambulance Service said the vehicle was going back to base and wasn’t on ‘blue light’ duty at the time of the collision.
It comes as family paid tribute to the schoolboy, with his mother Emma Frendo saying: ‘Saul was a much-loved son, brother, grandson, and nephew, loved by all that met him. He was the sweetest, kindest boy ever, and always had the biggest infectious smile and was full of love.’
A white sheet hung on a railing was also covered in written tributes, while a cardboard sign pinned up beside it read: ‘Kids on bikes – don’t kill.’
Saul’s sister said on Facebook: ‘Words cannot describe my feelings at the moment. Rest in peace Saul, I love you.
‘Just so crazy how it happened. In one blink he was gone. He was way too young and shouldn’t have gone at 15. He was seriously my best friend and brother in one. Even though he did annoy me we had the best memories and will never be forgotten.
‘I’m so proud to call you MY brother and you will always be in my mind and by my side.
‘Such a cruel world and how fast it happened. I was literally just talking to my mum and it just happened in one blink after all the good memories and I wish we could’ve made more but all of them are still in my heart. Rest easy Saul.’