A 19-year-old female police officer has died after being hit by a car while responding to another collision.
PC Jess Turnbull, who only joined Northumbria Police in September, died in hospital on Wednesday, surrounded by her loved ones, Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine said.
The teenage officer had been called to a collision involving two cars, with the occupants of one of the cars fleeing the scene, on the A189 near Cramlington, Northumberland, at around 11.10pm on Monday.
The force said that while she was out of her marked police vehicle at the scene, PC Turnbull was struck by a black Mercedes CLC that was unconnected to the original incident.
Northumbria Police said a 73-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
He was taken to hospital but was subsequently released before being re-arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, he has since been bailed.
The chief constable paid tribute to the young officer at the force's headquarters in North Tyneside, where the Union flag was at half mast.
She said: "This is an extremely tragic incident where Jess lost her life in the line of duty while serving and protecting our communities."
"Policing is a family and we are mourning the passing of not only a colleague and a friend but also our own family member, and we will continue to support each other during this extremely difficult time."
She added that the PC still had "so much still to look forward to in her career and life," and that she had "made the ultimate sacrifice and that will never be forgotten".
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Police have appealed for witnesses or people with dashcam footage to come forward.
The public have been urged not to leave floral tributes to the officer at the scene of the crash for safety reasons.
People who wish to pay tribute with flowers have been asked to do so at the force headquarters in Middle Engine Lane, Wallsend.
The officer's family has asked for privacy.
It is understood PC Turnbull is the first Northumbria Police officer to be killed on duty since 2006, when PC Joseph Carroll was fatally injured in a collision caused by a prisoner he was transporting pulling the handbrake on his car.
(c) Sky News 2026: Police officer, 19, dies after being hit by car, while attending another collision
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