PICTURES: Five-car crash on Sheffield danger road after police chase stolen Audi

Officers had been chasing two people in a stolen Audi A4 sport for 25 minutes before the vehicle smashed into two parked cars and a van and was then hit by the pursuing police vehicle.

The incident happened in the early hours of yesterday on Dyke Vale Road in Hackenthorpe – and comes less than a month after thousands of pounds of damage was caused to vehicles on the same street by a hit-and-run driver.

One of the parked cars, a Renault Clio, has been written off after overturning and sustaining extensive damage after being hit at speed at around 4.45am.

The Audi was also destroyed in the collision.

Residents said one of the vehicles that was hit was a rental car being used after the owner’s car was damaged in the previous smash on March 10.

The crash followed a chase that had gone through Rotherham and Sheffield.

Hundreds of people have already signed a petition calling for improved safety measures on the road in the wake of similar recent crashes – with fears someone will soon be injured or killed unless action is taken.

Sheffield councillors are due to debate the petition tomorrow after it was signed by more than 700 people.

Sarah Winn, who set up the petition, said one person whose parked car was hit would have been inside the vehicle at the time of the collision on a normal day.

“They were running late for work otherwise they would have been in the car,” she said.

“It is terrifying.”

She said residents are struggling to believe their cars have been hit again.

“It is history repeating itself. It is almost literally the same thing again – obviously slightly different because it was a police chase but the same result,” she said.

The driver of the Audi and a passenger, a man and woman, have been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, failing to stop and theft.

South Yorkshire Police’s Operational Support team said the driver was also arrested for driving while unfit through drugs.

The man and woman in the car escaped with minor injuries.

The driver was reportedly Tasered by police following the collision, but the force are yet to officially confirm this.

The latest collision on the road follows the previous smash in March when a hit-and-run driver ploughed into four parked cars, which came after a similar crash last October.

Residents say there are a number of reasons for ongoing problems on the road – including a lack of parking space which means there is only narrow spaces for drivers to pass.

Campaigners say Sheffield Council should prioritise introducing new safety measures on the street, including either speed bumps, CCTV cameras or widening the road, before someone is seriously hurt.