Suspect ‘high on cocaine and cannabis’ when he was killed by train while fleeing police in Willesden
Deavante Keane was killed in Willesden (Pic credit: Twitter) - Credit: Archant
A suspected drug dealer was high on cocaine and cannabis when he was hit by a train while fleeing police in Willesden, an inquest heard today.
Devante Keane, 20, from Essex, was killed near Dartmouth Road following a 40-minute chase on in November 2013.
North London Coroner’s Court heard he broke free from two officers who stopped him on Christchurch Avenue, believing he was in possession of drugs.
Both officers gave chase and he was also pursued by a police helicopter and a team of search dogs as he scrambled across gardens and vaulted the fence on to the railway lines.
A post-mortem report stated he would have been experiencing the effects of cocaine and cannabis at the time of his death,
It found no evidence of physical injury caused by Taser use, a baton strike or a dog bite that could of caused his death or disoriented him.
PC Elizabeth Hopkins and PC Lawrence Collier detained him when he walked past apparently smoking a joint and he initially cooperated, telling them he had ID.
Most Read
- 1 QPR ground name to revert to Loftus Road for 2022-23
- 2 Trial date for men charged with fatal stabbing of Emmanuel Odunlami
- 3 Cricklewood estate reports 'major vermin' problem
- 4 'Strictest' headteacher to be documentary subject
- 5 'Extremely dangerous' men convicted after girl kidnapped and raped
- 6 VOTE: Which north London fish and chip shop is your favourite?
- 7 Baby among three rescued from Willesden flat fire
- 8 5 of the best things to do with kids in north London
- 9 Jailed: North London members of Essex drugs supply network
- 10 Police officer sacked after she 'failed' woman murdered by husband
A search found 12 individually wrapped blue and orange packages in a self-seal plastic bag, which the officers believed to be cannabis.
Around 10 minutes after Mr Keane broke free PC Hopkins said she saw him walking between the two railway tracks beneath the bridge she was standing on.
She said: “I yelled ‘get off the f**king tracks, come up here,’ he just looked up and carried on walking, then I lost sight of him, he’d gone under the bridge.”
Recalling when she heard the news he had died, she said: “I felt cold all over and was starting to shake and was feeling sick, I was still standing there when I heard that life had been pronounced extinct.”
The hearing continues.
