A tweet from Jeremy Clarkson complaining about the closure of a road in west London after a shocking crash early on Friday morning in which a man lost his life, with the collision apparently caused by drivers racing, has been met with replies from a number of police officers in both the capital and elsewhere explaining their work to him.
The Metropolitan Police say that the crash happened at around 0140 hours on Friday morning as a “convoy of vehicles” were being driven at speed along the A4 westbound near Hammersmith flyover, adding that the drivers were “suspected of racing.”
A man aged in his 70s, described by police as “an innocent member of the public,” died at the scene while his wife, also aged in her 70s, is in a stable condition in hospital.
Three people – two men and a woman – were arrested at the scene on suspicion of dangerous driving.
Police say that another man, who had fled the scene, later turned himself in and has been arrested on suspicion of the same offence.
Before full details of the incident emerged, Clarkson tweeted:
His tweet, which is still on the social network, received widespread condemnation, including from a number of road traffic police officers whose work includes dealing with the fallout of incidents such as this – one of them the Metropolitan Police’s lead for Vision Zero, Chief Superintendent Andy Cox.
The fatal incident early on Friday morning is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s Serious Collisions Investigation Unit (SCIU).
Detective Constable Liam Kerrigan of the SCIU said: “Our initial inquiries have established that up to nine cars were travelling at high speed at the time of the collision. They appear to have been in convoy and may well have been racing.
“The man who tragically died was an innocent member of the public, driving home with his wife and following the rules of the road.
Police have appealed for witnesses to the collision, or who viewed what happened beforehand, to come forward, including people who may have dashcam footage.
DC Kerrigan added: “I would appeal to those who were driving as part of the convoy to search their conscience and get in touch with police about what has happened.”
Officers can be reached by telephoning 101 or via Twitter @MetCC quoting CAD569/7 Jun. The SCIU can also be contacted directly on 020 8543 5157, and the charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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