Newly recruited Northumbria police officer dies after being hit at crash scene
A 19-year-old Northumbria officer died after being struck at a Cramlington crash scene, prompting scrutiny of the risks facing newly recruited police.
Pc Jess Turnbull was only 19, but Northumbria Police said she had already shown the commitment of an officer determined to keep communities safe. She died in hospital on Wednesday, June 10, after being seriously injured while responding to a collision on the A189 Spine Road in Cramlington, Northumberland, at about 11.10pm on Monday, June 8.
Turnbull was outside a marked police car at the scene when she was struck by a black Mercedes CLC. Police said the Mercedes was unconnected to the original crash. A 73-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving as the investigation into the fatal incident continued.
The death has drawn sharp attention to the vulnerability of very young officers at fast-moving roadside scenes, especially at night when visibility is reduced and emergency crews are working around active traffic. Turnbull had joined Northumbria Police only in September 2025, giving her less than a year in the force before the collision that ended her life.
Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine said Turnbull had “so much to look forward to in her career and her life”. Jardine described her as a dedicated and committed officer who always sought to do her best to keep communities safe, and said the force was mourning the loss of “a colleague, a friend and a family member”.
Northumbria Police said Turnbull died surrounded by her loved ones. That detail has underlined the human toll behind a criminal investigation that now centers on one of the most painful outcomes of frontline policing: an officer sent to help after a crash, then killed while carrying out that duty.
Her short service also places a harsh spotlight on recruitment and the support given to officers at the start of their careers. Turnbull had only recently begun her policing life, yet she was already deployed to an emergency on a busy Northumberland road, where routine response work can turn deadly in an instant. For Northumbria Police, the loss is not only operational but personal, cutting across the ranks at the moment a young officer should have been building a career.
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