M11 crash update: Tanker driver relives moment of impact
A TANKER driver has spoken of the dramatic moment he saw three HGV’s, a coach, and four cars collide on the M11.
Kelvin Oldham, 58, was driving north towards Cambridge and was directly behind the crash when it happened just after 10am this morning (April 4).
Sitting in the cab of his lorry on the northbound carriageway Mr Oldham relived the shocking events that happened just metres in front of him as he came grinding to a halt.
“I saw the lorry swerve to the inside lane, then to the outside lane, then back again and it smashed into the rear right of the bus,” he said. “It was a big collision and it is a miracle that no one seems to have been killed.”
“I have been driving for 39 years and have seen accidents on the road like this before, but this one left me very shaken afterwards – I’m still not completely sure what happened.
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“It looked like the cars in front had crashed, the bus tried to avoid them, and then the lorry smashed into the back of the coach.
“I saw one girl cut out of her car, she looked like both legs had been injured, but she was coherent and was taken away in the air ambulance – it will be a miracle if no one has been killed. Someone up there must have been looking down on all the drivers involved today.”
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Mr Oldham was driving a lorry that had a highly flammable mixture and was glad to not be caught up in the accident himself – not only for his own health but that of others.
“The chemicals in my tanker are SIX times more flammable than petrol so it could have been a really big problem if I had of been involved. It’s lucky.
“I have been sitting here since 10am so I have had a long time to calm down but I was shaking after the crash. No one likes to see anything like that.”
Mr Oldham, who is also an ex-RAF ambulance driver, also revealed that he had even helped out in a crash situation before, and came to the rescue of a woman some years back by helping her out of a smashed up vehicle.
DID you see what happened? E-mail us at editor@saffronwalden-reporter.co.uk.
