A 17-year-old girl who died after jumping out of a police car taking her into custody has been named.
Tamzin Hall, from Wellington, Somerset, was killed when she was hit by another car on the M5 between Taunton and Bridgewater.
She escaped when the car pulled over on the northbound side of the motorway shortly after 11pm on Monday.
The girl was then hit on the southbound carriageway after she jumped over the central reservation.
Paramedics were on the scene within minutes, but Tamzin was declared dead shortly after.
Avon and Somerset Police, which was transporting her from Taunton, has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Director David Ford said: ‘This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends, and everyone affected by the events of that evening.
‘We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.
‘Our role is to independently investigate all the circumstances surrounding this incident.
‘As soon as we were notified by Avon and Somerset Police, we sent our investigators to the police post-incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.’
The police service said: ‘Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.
‘A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.
‘The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.’
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.