Two arrested after 17-year-old boy found in Luton road so badly injured police thought he had been hit by a car

A 40-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman have been arrested after a teenager was found lying in the road so badly injured that police initially believed it was a hit and run incident.

Police were called at around 1.20am on June 2 after the 17-year-old boy was found lying injured in New Bedford Road, close to Telford Way.

The man was arrested on Saturday (June 4) on suspicion of grievous bodily harm while the woman was arrested on Sunday (June 5) on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

Both have been bailed with conditions while the investigation continues.

Enquiries have established that the teenager was with others in the Crawley Road car park a short time before he was found injured.

One of this group was then seen outside Dominos Pizza in the Crystal House complex of shops, while the victim and others went under the nearby bridge towards Luton railway station.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Gardner said: “We are making significant progress into establishing the circumstances of this incident and made two arrests whilst we follow several other lines of enquiry.

“Although the circumstances initially suggested a car incident – due to the level of injuries sustained by the victim – we cannot rule out that this teenager was harmed intentionally by someone else.

“We are still appealing for information so are urging anyone who may have been driving on Telford Way, parked in Crawley Road, or have any other information or context which can help us, to please get in touch as soon as possible.

“The investigation team are also keen to trace a blue BMW vehicle that was seen in the area at the time of the incident. If you become aware of a blue BMW parked in your area that you do not recognise, then we would like to hear from you.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police via beds.police.uk/ro/report or call 101 quoting reference 40/31769/22 or Operation Islands.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through crimestoppers-uk.org