Newlyweds killed in police chase weren’t f leeing raid
Teenagers expecting first child were mistaken for knife-wielding burglars
A PREGNANT bride and her new husband killed in a high- speed police chase were innocent motorists mistaken for burglars, it emerged last night.
Patrick McDonagh, 19, and Shauna, 18, were chased for ten minutes by nine cars and a helicopter after three victims were robbed at knifepoint.
The couple, who married 11 weeks ago and were expecting their first child yesterday, were fatally injured when their car crashed through barriers on the A40 and ploughed into a coach in Acton, west London.
They and their unborn child died at the scene after the vehicle burst into flames. Another man in their silver Renault Megane was taken to hospital after the crash at 9pm on Sunday.
Police had abandoned the chase moments earlier when the Renault drove into the opposite carriageway because it was deemed too dangerous to continue. Scotland Yard faced questions yesterday after it emerged that the couple had a ‘cast-iron alibi’ and were nowhere near the burglary in Pinner, northwest London, at the time.
Police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct said CCTV showed the crash victims were elsewhere at the time.
The McDonaghs had shared the news that they were expecting on Facebook, posting a video of a pink teddy with the caption: ‘It’s a girl.’
Their heartbroken family said in a statement yesterday: ‘Patrick and Shauna were a young couple who had recently got married and were very much in love. Patrick was a devoted husband to Shauna and they were very much looking forward to the birth of their daughter Sienna Marie who was due to be born on Valentine’s Day.’
After their deaths, Mrs McDonagh’s sister Bridgie Mongan wrote online: ‘Why God did you have to do this? They was the most happy couple going.’ Mr McDonagh’s sister Lexi-Rose Lawrence said in a tribute: ‘You were so good-hearted [you] would do anything for anyone.’
A family member told the London Evening Standard: ‘They were a very close couple, always together, seemed very happy, madly in love. Their families will never get over their deaths.’
The chase began after police were called to an aggravated burglary. Four men with a knife and screwdriver threatened to kill two other men in their thirties and sixties, and a woman in her fifties, if they did not hand over their valuables.
After a 20-minute ordeal, one of the burglars punched the younger man in the face before the gang fled with cash and jewellery.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said: ‘The IOPC will examine the information the police had and the rationale for the pursuit.’