THE driver of a car involved in a fatal collision while being pursued by police appeared in court yesterday.
Colin William Surtees was at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta car which crashed head-on with a taxi in Lizard Lane, South Shields, at about 11.35pm on Friday.
His passenger, 26-year-old Norman Anderson, of Warkworth Avenue, South Shields, died later in South Tyneside District General Hospital from injuries suffered in the accident.
Mr Surtees, 24, of Downham Close, South Shields, appeared before South Tyneside magistrates yesterday charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and having no insurance.
The hearing was adjourned and he was remanded in custody to next appear at Newcastle Crown Court, on Friday, February 3.
A police patrol car was said to have been following the Fiesta, in Lizard Lane, at the time of the accident.
Northumbria Police has referred the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPPC), for investigation as a matter of course.
An IPCC spokesman confirmed the matter will be looked into, but added that no complaint has been filed over the incident.
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