A 32-ton lorry has crashed through the central reservation of the A4 near Chiswick earlier this week killing a Japanese businessman traveling by taxi to London.
Two Japanese colleagues traveling with the victim, and the taxi driver, were also injured in the accident. It is understood that two other vehicles were also involved as the lorry, loaded with building aggregate, crashed through the steel barrier in the central reservation and into oncoming traffic at around 4.05 pm on Thursday 9th December.
Police have arrested the 44 year old driver of the lorry on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. The nationality of the driver and the cause of the accident are not known at this time.
Firefighters had to use cutting equipment to release the the occupants of the taxi who were taken to Charing Cross hospital where one of the men later died as a result of his injuries.
Police have said it was incredible that more people were not injured considering the weight of the lorry and the fact that this stretch of road is so busy at around that time of day. The evening rush hour was just starting when the accident took place.
Here at Safer Motorways we continue to push for the installation of more concrete safety barrier on the central reserve to prevent incidents like this happening in the first place.
As reported in our other article this month, it is a major failing that that money is not “invested” in situations like this where the benefits are so obvious . Introducing more concrete safety barrier is a genuine investment in our road infrastructure not least because the he financial pay-back is achieved in a very short space of time and unnecessary deaths like this could so easily be avoided.
Saving money isn’t always about NOT spending money – it is often about investing in the things that make a real and measurable difference.