A man being transported to court in England escaped from a custody vehicle and was struck and killed by a train, police have confirmed. The man, who was in his 40s, fled a transport contractor’s van while it was stationary on a major highway north of London, according to a joint statement from Hertfordshire Police and British Transport Police. Two members of transport staff were injured “during an altercation in the van” and were taken to hospital by ambulance. Officers searching the area were called to a casualty on the tracks near a train station in Hertfordshire, a county roughly 20 miles north of London, at around 9:40 a.m. local time. The man had been in custody at a police station in the town of Stevenage before being placed in the vehicle. Formal identification has not taken place, but the man’s family has been notified. Hertfordshire Police has referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the body that oversees investigations into British law enforcement. The incident caused widespread disruption to rail services running from London through the region, with multiple lines delayed before tracks were eventually reopened. Inquiries are continuing “to establish the full circumstances,” police said.
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