UPDATE: Police granted more time to question man arrested in connection with Yaxley fatal hit and run

Detectives have been given extra time to question a man after he was arrested in connection with causing the deaths of two best friends in a hit and run near Yaxley.

Officers initially had until 11.15pm last to charge or release the 38-year-old, but applied for and were granted a 12-hour extension.

Tributes are left by the side of the road for the pair killed in a hit and run in Yaxley.,
Yaxley, Peterborough
05/01/2017.
Picture by Terry Harris. THA — Tributes are left by the side of the road for the pair killed in a hit and run in Yaxley., Yaxley, Peterborough 05/01/2017. Picture by Terry Harris. THA

placeholder image — Tributes are left by the side of the road for the pair killed in a hit and run in Yaxley., Yaxley, Peterborough 05/01/2017. Picture by Terry Harris. THA

A decision on the man’s future is therefore expected by 11.15am today, Friday January 6.

The man was arrested by Essex Police in Chelmsford on Tuesday night, January 3, following the hit and run on the B1091, Broadway, between Yaxley and Farcet earlier that day.

He is being held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and assault.

Thomas Northam, 22, and his friend Thomas Fletcher, 19, were walking along the road when they were hit by a BMW X5 at 11.12am on Tuesday.

Following the fatal collision, the driver is said to have fled the scene through nearby fields before dumping a suitcase containing £100,000 cash in a nearby garden.