A 17-YEAR-OLD girl who tragically died on the M5 after leaving a police car has been named as Tamzin Hall.

The Wellington teenager was being transported by officers in a police vehicle between the junctions for Taunton (25) and Bridgwater (24) when it stopped.

After leaving the vehicle, she was hit by another vehicle – driven by a member of the public – and sadly died at the scene.

An Avon & Somerset Police spokesperson said: “She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side while transporting her, moments before the incident.

“A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.

“Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss. A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.

“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”

The force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in relation to the incident, which is now investigating.

IOPC director, David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.

“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.

“Our role is to independently investigate all the circumstances surrounding this incident.

“As soon as we were notified by Avon and Somerset Police, we sent our investigators to the police post incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.”

A spokesperson added: “Our investigation is at an early stage. So far, we have initial accounts from officers involved and we are obtaining statements from several witnesses.”

The coroner has been informed, they said, and a post-mortem was carried out on Thursday (November 14).