The scene in Tottenham Court Road on Monday

A CHARITY has called for “urgent scrutiny” of the events which led to a teenager being pursued by police dying in a road crash.

An 18-year-old man riding a motorcycle died in Tottenham Court Road on Monday morning.

Flowers and cards have been placed near the site of the collision. A pillion passenger on the back of the motorbike suffered leg and arm injuries following the crash outside Tesco, near Warren Street tube station, just before 7am.

Police say they arrested the teenager, aged 17, after reportedly finding him in possession of a machete.

Both the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) have launched an investigation into the minutes leading up to the fatal crash.

According to a statement released by the Met, two officers riding marked police motorcycles began following the vehicle after it passed through a red light in Oxford Street around 6.45am.

Police said they pursued the motorcycle into Tottenham Court Road after the driver “failed to stop for police”.

Shortly after, police say the motorcycle collided with a taxi and street furniture. First aid was provided before the arrival of paramedics, but the rider’s life could not be saved.

The Met has yet to release the identity of the teenager who died.

His family are being supported by specially trained officers.

Saoirse Morgan, who works at Happy Bones Coffee near the site of the crash, said she was outside the café at the time of the collision. “Basically, there were two men on a bike. I just heard sirens. I looked back – I heard a loud noise, a motorbike,” she said.

“They were swerving through all the traffic. They hit the side of the taxi, and then they slid, and I think one hit a pole, and the other one slid towards Tesco. The police were a little bit behind. There was a kerbside sweeper as well – he nearly got hit. It was crazy.”

Ocian Hamel-Smith, who lives in a flat overlooking the site of the ­collision, told the New Journal: “I had just gone to the kitchen to make my morning coffee, and then I noticed all the police tape. I opened the window and stuck my head out and saw the whole tent, and all the carnage spread around.

“It was elements of a [motor] bike – I could see the actual saddle, and the front light splintered off. I also saw a bent parking sign.”

Inquest, a charity campaigning for transparency following state-related deaths, called for “urgent scrutiny” of the chase.

Lucy McKay, a spokesperson for the charity, told the New Journal: “Police pursuits and the dangers they pose to the subject and general public must be proportionate.

“Sadly, we have seen that often this is not the case, leading to preventable deaths.

“This latest death of a teenager on the streets of London requires urgent scrutiny. Our thoughts are with the families affected, who sadly now face a long journey towards finding answers.”

In a statement the IOPC said: “After being notified by the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service], we have sent investigators to the scene and to the police post-incident procedure to begin our inquiries.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic incident.”