One person has died and two were left seriously injured after three separate road accidents on Monday.

A 24-year-old man died after crashing his motorcycle on the North Circular Road in Hendon, after being chased by police. Officers tried to pull the man over in Fore Street, Edmonton, at 8pm, but he failed to stop and raced off at speed. Several minutes after losing the motorcyclist, police received reports he had crashed eight miles away on the North Circular, at the junction of Brent Street and Golders Green Road.

The man was rushed to Royal Free hospital, Hampstead, where he died of his injuries. No other vehicle is believed to have been involved and the incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Comm-ission, which is standard procedure when somebody dies where there is police involvement.

Witnesses are being asked to contact the collision investi-gation unit at Alperton on 020 8998 5319 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Three hours after the fatal crash and just three miles away, a 45-year-old man was left with life-threatening injuries after being hit by a car in Chichele Road, Cricklewood, at the junction of Sheldon Road, at around 11.15pm. The driver of the car, described as a dark metallic-coloured saloon, did not stop and was last seen travelling towards Cricklewood Broadway.

The 45-year-old suffered serious head and leg injuries and was unconscious when two London Ambulance Service vehicles arrived at the scene. He was taken to Royal Free hospital and, at the time of going to press, he was in a critical condition.

Officers from Kilburn police station are asking witnesses to call 020 7372 1212 or Crimestoppers.

The third serious road accident on the same day was in Market Place, Hampstead Garden Suburb, at the junction of Falloden Way. A 53-year-old woman sustained serious injuries after she was hit by a car at around 12pm. She was taken by ambulance to hospital but her condition is not life-threatening.

The driver of a grey Nissan Serena was later arrested for failing to stop and is helping police with their enquiries.

Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers said road safety was a high priority' for her and Barnet Council.

"I'm regularly in touch with the council about the best way to tackle road safety issues in Barnet and there are improvements we need to look at," she said. Latest Transport for London (TfL) figures show there were 1,254 road crashes in the borough of Barnet in 2004, 178 of them hit-and-runs. According to the Department for Transport, 146 people died on Barnet's roads in 2005.