Nottingham attacks killer Valdo Calocane was "spooked" by a police patrol vehicle before hitting two pedestrians, an inquiry has heard.
Police dashcam footage showing the stolen van failing to stop after a car activated its sirens was shown to the inquiry on Friday, alongside audio of an officer telling his control room "it's running people over, two people down".
The inquiry has heard how Calocane fatally stabbed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, in June 2023, before killing Ian Coates, 65, stealing his van and using it to run over pedestrians.
Sgt Dean Reynolds, who spotted Calocane driving the stolen van, said it was "never" his intention to spook him.
Reynolds told the inquiry he had taped off part of the scene in Ilkeston Road, where the two students were attacked, before searching as a single-officer crew for a suspect in the "maze" of nearby streets.
He was informed at about 05:20 BST that a pedestrian had been hit by a vehicle in Milton Street and offered assistance.
While driving through Nottingham city centre, Reynolds said he saw a white van which matched the description given over police radio and had intended to pull the vehicle over, activating his sirens for four seconds.
He stopped at the scene to help the two pedestrians who were hit in Upper Parliament Street as Calocane drove off.
Sophie Cartwright KC, representing some of the victims, asked Reynolds why he was seeking to pull over a vehicle without the "approval of command and control".
Reynolds answered: "I don't need the approval of command and control to pull a vehicle over."
As video footage of the events was played to the court, Cartwright told Reynolds he "should have stopped and you should have made clear to control what the situation was".
"It's the clear recollection of [victim] Sharon Miller that it was your actions and the pursuit immediately after the audibility of the sirens that she says spooked [Calocane] directly into being driven over," she said.
Responding to questions from John Beggs KC, representing Nottinghamshire Police, Reynolds said it was "never" his intention to spook Calocane, adding he had expected him to find a safe place to stop and pull in.
Ch Insp David Mather, who was the force incident manager and tactical firearms commander at the time of the double stabbing, also gave evidence on Friday.
He said he had tasked armed response officers with administering first aid to Barnaby and Grace as a priority, as they had better medical training than non-armed colleagues.
"My working assumption based on my policing experience was given the location, given the time of day, given the age of the victims... was that this was a robbery," he said.
"In my experience, people that commit robberies then run away, so my expectation was that the offender's intent was to evade capture, so they were fleeing.
"I knew that there were two very seriously injured individuals at the scene, and I wanted the ARVs to prioritise - using that extra skill and capability they have - those two victims and give them every opportunity to survive."
The inquiry continues.