Man arrested over death of two-year-old in Birmingham crash

A man has been arrested after a two-year-old boy died in a crash in the West Midlands that involved a stolen Porsche.

The 30-year-old was being held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, West Midlands Police said.

The crash, which also injured four adults, happened on Dartmouth Road in Smethwick, on Saturday evening.

Police said the suspect had been detained after the force had received new information about the collision.

The boy and the adults were in a Toyota Auris when it was in collision with a grey Porsche Cayenne just before 23:00 GMT.

Detectives said the driver of the Porsche, which had been stolen earlier in December, had fled the scene.

A woman, aged 29, and a 30-year-old man remained in a serious condition in hospital following the collision, the force said.

The road had been shut in both directions to enable specialist reconstruction staff to examine the scene, but it has since been reopened.

Police believe the stolen car was being driven away from a roundabout on Kenrick Way, which residents said was a hotspot for street racers.

“Residents live through hell every Friday and Saturday night, dreading that these cars will turn up,” said Sarah Coombes, Labour MP for West Bromwich, who has raised the matter in Parliament.

“We’ve had so many crashes on this stretch of road, we need to do something about it,” she told BBC Radio WM.

The “absolutely tragic” death of a young child has highlighted “a terrible ongoing issue”, she said.