‘Heat from Huddersfield horror crash has damaged my car and …
A man watched in horror as flames destroyed crashed cars with heat so intense it melted his car and two front house doors.
Alex Boucouvalas said he heard three loud bangs outside his house in Penistone Road, Fenay Bridge, Huddersfield, and looked out to see several crashed and damaged vehicles.[1][2]
Moments later, flames took hold and his own car, a Nissan Juke, which had been damaged in the initial impact, suffered damage due to intense heat.
Alex, 77, said it was lucky that a 'speeding' car had collided with a parked van because he believes it could have ploughed into an estimated 50 drinkers sitting outside nearby Harvey's bar. "I heard a 'thud, thud, thud' - I think somebody was speeding and didn't take the little corner properly. It hit a neighbour's car head-on and my car. If it hadn't it would have been carnage.
The scene outside Harvey's Bar and Kitchen (Image: Submitted)
"I looked out of the window and within minutes the car caught fire. Then a big fire ballooned up. Then my car got melted.
"When I looked out I saw three cars had crashed and were in the middle of the road. I saw police trying to make the place safe.
"There was an inferno, with cars on fire. We are on the phone to the insurance but we have no knowledge of who caused it."
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Alex said his wife had been 'petrified' by what happened. "You feel that you are not safe in your own home. My wife was petrified yesterday.
"We saw flames at least 20ft high. She thought the house windows were going to go in." He said two neighbouring houses had suffered heat-damage to their front doors. Alex said he was relieved that a parked van appeared to have taken the brunt of the impact.
A number of vehicles were destroyed following a crash in Fenay Bridge (Image: Submitted)
"People were drinking there (at Harvey's). If the van wasn't there that car would have gone straight into Harvey's."
West Yorkshire Police[5] is appealing for witnesses to the multi-vehicle collision which involved a black VW Golf colliding with several vehicles at 8.50pm. Two men who were in a red Mercedes suffered serious injuries which included broken bones. The men's injuries were described as serious but not life-threatening by police.
The driver of the Golf, a 20-year-old man, was taken to hospital following and has since been discharged. He has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and is in police custody for questioning.
Police said the VW had failed to stop for police in the Shelley area about five minutes before the collision. Officers were in pursuit when the crash happened.
The VW Golf ploughed into a white BMW which then hit a red Mercedes. The Golf also struck a parked and unoccupied Renault Kangoo van which witnesses said had prevented the Golf from hitting people drinking outside Harvey's.
Today a spokesman for Harvey's Bar thanked people for their support and confirmed the business was open as normal. Local councillor Bernard McGuin echoed the comments of local people who have raised road safety concerns in the area.
Today one resident described the road safety situation as 'hell'. Another said: "It's a 40mph speed limit but trucks just fly past. The speed that people drive is crazy."
Coun McGuin said: "This has always been considered a dangerous road by myself and nearby residents. I can't speculate on the cause of last night's crash but there are problematical junctions and some choose to park on Penistone Road in a haphazard fashion.
"Whatever the cause, we should all know that we all owe a duty of care in keeping to the speed limit, not parking dangerously, and taking care at junctions. This is the first major accident here but after many minor accidents, I hope Kirklees Highways can assure me that everything possible in future will be done to make the road safe. "
References
- ^ Fenay Bridge (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
- ^ several crashed and damaged vehicles. (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
- ^ Horror in Fenay Bridge, Huddersfield, as residents 'hear bangs' as cars 'explode' outside popular pub Harvey's (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
- ^ West Yorkshire Police (www.examinerlive.co.uk)