Bus driver arrested in Belsize Park death collision case

Pictures: The scene in Haverstock Hill on Thursday and student Mingwei Tan.

UPDATED by Saturday October 2, 2010

By JAMIE WELHAM

POLICE have questionned a bus driver following Thursday's road collision in Belsize Park which left a promising young student dead.

The 50 year-old was arrested on Friday on suspicion of careless driving and failing to stop at the scene. He was bailed to return before officers at a later date.

Cambridge University medical student Mingwei Tan, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene in the early hours of Thursday. Officers appealing for information last week said she was dragged more than 100 metres down Haverstock Hill just before 2am. She was found opposite the junction with Belsize Grove and personal items including a mobile phone, jumper and shoes could be seen scattered along the road. Ms Tan, the president of the univeristy's karate club, was born in Singapore. She was living in north London.

Forensic officers were conducting a fingerprint search of the road last week to try and trace the movements of the vehicle while helicopters took aerial photographs of the mile long crime scene. 

Two N5 night buses were stopped inside the police cordon, and is understood police spoke to passengers who may have witnessed the incident. Detectives from the Met's Road Death Investigations Unit are leading the investigation and said they would not comment on speculation that the victim was trapped under a lorry that had hit her outside the Royal Free Hospital in Pond Street.

Officers said it was possible that the driver who did not stop may not have known that he had hit her. Services at the Royal Free Hospital were unaffected despite Pond Street being closed, and pupils at the Rosary RC Primary School in Haverstock Hill started school half an hour later than usual. Belsize Park tube station remained closed for most of yesterday. Residents and workers said they were “horrified” by the incident.

Marion Atkinson said: “The whole thing is like a scene from 28 Days Later. It feels really weird to have forensics officers around here. It seems like an awful lot of police for a hit and run.”

The woman has not been formally identified and police are trying to trace her next of kin.

A police spokeswoman said: “At this stage we will not speculate on what has happened. The investigation is still in its early stages and a detective has yet to be assigned overall control.”

Anyone with any information should call the Investigations Unit on 020 8998 5319.