A KILLER crash between an unmarked police car and a motorist was at the centre of a watchdog investigation this week.

Emergency services rushed to the scene of a collision between two cars on Bath Road near Calcot Row shortly before 4pm on Tuesday afternoon.

It immediately became clear that a police car had been involved in the collision and two elderly women, aged 87 and 88, had suffered serious injuries as a result of the crash.

Paramedics assessed the two injured OAPs, neither of whom were in the police vehicle, but they were tragically declared dead shortly afterwards.

Now, Thames Valley Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the watchdog which looks into the force’s actions.

A watchdog spokesman confirmed the police car was responding to an emergency at the time of the crash and said the vehicle's siren was on.

They said: "The two civilian deceased are both female, aged 87 and 88 and they are both from the Slough area.

"They were in collision with an unmarked police police dog unit vehicle. It was a 4x4 and was responding to an emergency call at the time.

"Although it was unmarked it did have the blue lights on at the time. We are in the process of downloading the on-board data box and that will give us more information about whether or not the sirens were on.

"Our investigators were at the scene last night. We are in the process of collecting CCTV footage of the collision. We are also trying to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident.

"This is a busy road and we are hoping local residents will have seen something to assist our investigation. The current understanding is that the members of the public were pulling onto the A4 from Calcot Park Golf Course.

"We are unable to identify the officer at this time, but it was a single officer in the car. We have no details of any injuries at this time."

The road closure was lifted late on Tuesday night.

However, debris as a result of the crash could still be seen at the side of the road on Wednesday morning.

A police spokesman added: “Road closures have been lifted following a serious road traffic collision which occurred on the A4, Bath Road, Calcot at around 3.50pm.

“The collision involved two vehicles, a car and a police vehicle.

Reading Chronicle:

“Sadly as a result of the collision the driver and passenger of the car have died. Their next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.

“As is standard procedure, due to the fact that the incident resulted in the deaths of two members of the public Thames Valley Police has made a mandatory referral to the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) who have begun an investigation.”