Two men have been charged with a number of offences, including robbery and kidnap, after a BMW crashed into a care home in Sunderland following a police chase.
The deaths of two Highcliffe Care Home residents, a woman in her 80s and another in her 90s who died the day after the crash, are still being investigated, said police. Eight other residents were taken to hospital.
Sam Asgari-Tabar, 21 from Sunderland, has been charged with causing serious injury to a resident by dangerous driving.
He and Reece Parish, 21 from Sunderland, are also charged with robbery and kidnap and will appear at at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
On Wednesday night, officers had been following a BMW that had been reported stolen from an address in Fenham, Newcastle, at around 21:20 BST.
Police were authorised to pursue the vehicle, which crashed into the care home in Witherwack around five minutes later.
It is alleged a woman involved in a proposed sale was inside the car when it was driven off before she was forcibly removed a short time later.
She was left shaken but uninjured, Northumbria Police said.
A mandatory referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
The care home had to be evacuated following the crash, which caused major structural damage to the building.
Northumbria Police is considering whether the crash contributed to the two women’s deaths.
Of the eight injured care home residents, only one was still in hospital by Friday evening.
In a separate matter, Mr Parish has also been charged with violent disorder in connection with events in Sunderland city centre on August 2 last year.
