Two Metropolitan Police officers appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 28 May 2026, charged with driving offences arising from a fatal collision that killed a pregnant woman and her unborn baby in south-east London.
PC Chris Johnson, 56, of Tonbridge, stands accused of causing death by dangerous driving. Former PC Daniel Tomkins, 35, of Bexleyheath, is charged with dangerous driving and denied the charge at the hearing. Both spoke only to confirm their names, addresses and dates of birth.
Mariam Ahmed, 38, died on 17 October 2024 after her Volkswagen Polo was struck by an unmarked police Volvo on Eltham Road, near the junction with Kidbrooke Park Road, at around 6.15pm. Ms Ahmed, who was in the full term of her pregnancy and due to give birth within weeks, was taken to King’s College Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 9.17pm. Her unborn child showed no signs of life and was pronounced dead shortly after 7.30pm. Ms Ahmed lived in Woolwich with her husband and two young daughters.
Prosecuting, Catherine Farrelly KC told the court that both officers were on duty as part of a pre-planned deployment targeting vehicles suspected of involvement in criminal activity. Both were driving separate unmarked police vehicles at speeds exceeding 70mph in what was a 30mph zone. She said the two officers overtook other cars by driving on the wrong side of the road for approximately 130 metres at high speed, moments before the collision.
Johnson, who was driving the vehicle that struck Ms Ahmed’s car, had reached speeds in the region of 80mph. Ms Farrelly told the court that he appeared to have accelerated to the maximum capability of the vehicle he was driving. At the point of impact, Johnson was travelling at approximately 50mph and was braking to the maximum. The force of the collision flipped Ms Ahmed’s car several times.
Tomkins was driving the second unmarked police vehicle, which was not directly involved in the collision. The court heard that he overtook Ms Ahmed’s car at 78mph shortly before the crash. It was also alleged that Tomkins may have been making a personal phone call at the time. Both police vehicles had emergency equipment activated, with lights and sirens on.
Ms Ahmed had been travelling in the same direction as the officers and had indicated to turn off the road before the collision occurred.
The charges follow an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which launched its probe after receiving a mandatory referral from the Metropolitan Police on the day of the crash. As part of its inquiries, the IOPC obtained and reviewed police dashcam footage, local CCTV, police logs, witness statements and a report from a forensic collision investigation expert. A third officer, who was a passenger in the vehicle that struck Ms Ahmed’s car, is also under investigation for potential gross misconduct for allegedly failing to challenge the manner of driving.
An earlier inquest hearing at London Inner South Coroner’s Court heard that the two unmarked vehicles had been responding to a report of a stolen motorcycle when the collision occurred.
Johnson entered no pleas at Thursday’s hearing. Both officers were granted unconditional bail and are next due to appear at the Old Bailey on 25 June.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that Johnson remains attached to the Met’s Taskforce unit. Tomkins was attached to the same unit at the time of the incident but has since left the force.
IOPC figures for the year 2023/24 show that six people died in traffic-related interactions with Metropolitan Police officers. The figure across all police forces in England and Wales for the same period was 32.
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