'Catching killer driver forced me to leave police'

A police officer forced to retire after breaking his ankle pursuing a man who had killed two people in hit-and-run crashes said it gives him solace knowing he stopped further deaths.

Ex-West Midlands Police inspector Craig Hurst was injured vaulting a fence as he ran after Emiljano Kasaj, 34, who had crashed into and killed two pedestrians before driving into a cyclist and crashing into a house in Coventry.

Kasaj admitted two counts of manslaughter and one of attempted murder, after the crashes in September 2023 while he was "suffering paranoid delusions", a psychiatrist told Warwick Crown Court.

Mr Hurst, who retired on medical grounds, said "it was a great relief to get hands on with him".

Kasaj was given a life sentence, with a minimum tariff of nine years, alongside a mental health order, at the court hearing on Monday.

Mr Hurst, a father of four, acted after receiving a report of a collision in the city centre, where officers were administering CPR on two casualties.

He then heard a report of a cyclist being knocked over and then saw another report of a car that had crashed into a house, before the offender fled.

Suspecting it was the same involved in all the crashes, Mr Hurst went to the scene requesting other resources and began searching the streets to find Kasaj.

A member of the public called police to say there was suspicious man in their garden and although one officer could see him, he was unable to reach him so Mr Hurst said he ran to the side of the property and found a locked gate.

"I stepped up onto the gate and was able to jump down onto the other side so I was in the garden with this man," he said.

"Unfortunately when I landed I felt a sharp pain in my ankle, I now know I'd broken my ankle at that point and I was able to hobble round to the garden where he was and detain him."

He said it was very stressful as he knew people had died due to his actions so it was vital he was captured.

"It was a great relief to get hands on with him considering how long we had been searching for him as well," he added.

Kasaj, an Albanian migrant already on bail for alleged immigration offences, told officers at the police station that had he not been arrested he would have carried on killing people, Mr Hurst said.

"I've now medically retired from the police due to my ankle injury but it gives me some solace that not only did we catch the killer but we also prevented further loss of life."

He said he was now unable to run or cycle and has pain in his ankle and cannot play football or get involved in physical activities with his four young children.

Kasaj was given a hybrid sentence - a hospital order alongside the prison term - meaning he will be detained in a health facility and only transferred to prison if deemed well enough.

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