A 70-year-old woman has been killed in a hit-and-run crash with a stolen car which had failed to stop for police moments earlier.
The woman was driving a Ford Fiesta on the A24 in Horsham, West Sussex.
Another 70-year-old woman, who was a passenger, was injured in the crash at the Farthing Hill roundabout, just before 14:30 GMT on Friday.
The driver of the Fiesta died at the scene, police said.
A black Mercedes AMG was believed to have been taken during a burglary in Goring-by-Sea, and was seen leaving the services on the A24 along with another stolen car – an A Class Mercedes.
Both cars failed to stop for police, and at 14:23 the A Class car crashed into a hedge. The driver ran off and was caught by officers shortly after.
The other Mercedes carried on, but was not being followed by police when it crashed with the Fiesta about 10 minutes later, a Sussex Police spokesman said.
Officers with dogs, and a police helicopter failed to find the missing driver of the Mercedes, who escaped on foot.
Det Insp Will Rolis said: “Enquiries are ongoing to identify the driver who ran from the scene after crashing in to the Ford Fiesta. We believe he tried to flag down a lift from near the fatal crash scene minutes later.”
An 18-year-old man from Feltham in West London has been arrested on suspicion of burglary.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has been informed and any witnesses are asked to come forward.
