Marlow: Businesses react to lorry crash into woman on West Street

Multiple emergency services attended West Street in Marlow this afternoon (November 15) after a woman in her nineties collided with a lorry whilst crossing the road outside Sainsbury’s.

Thames Valley Police confirmed to the Free Press that the woman involved in the collision was not thought to have sustained life-threatening injuries, although a spokesperson for South Central Ambulance Service described the incident as “serious”, necessitating the attendance of an ambulance, a rapid response vehicle and the air ambulance critical support unit.

The woman received initial treatment at the scene and was then taken by road to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Staff and owners of businesses along West Street described the incident as “shocking” and “really emotional”, with multiple witnesses reporting that they heard a scream at the time of the crash.

An employee at The Cedar Café, on 28 West Street, said: “It happened so quickly. I’ve been on this street for 18 years, and touch wood this is the first incident I’ve ever seen like that.

“That turning (from Marlow High Street) is dodgy, though.”

Lina and Kedar, a couple who run the Penguin Fish Bar on 13 West Street, were serving customers when the collision occurred but said they heard a scream from the road just outside.

Linda added: “It was an elderly lady who was involved – we’ve been here for 16 years and there hasn’t been anything like it. It’s horrible to think about, but the emergency services were all very quick. They came in just a few minutes.”

Staff at Sweaty Betty, 11 West Street, described the incident as “really scary” and “a big shock”. They added: “It’s crazy that it happened right there, just outside the store.”

An employee at Specsavers, 15-17 West Street, said they thought the woman had been crossing the road towards Sainsbury’s when the collision took place and staff at the Purple Butterfly Boutique, on 10 West Street, said the road had “been very quiet” before suddenly “people were running past the window”.

Sam, who works at V.I.P. Barbers, 12 West Street, said that while he had been cutting hair when the crash happened, he had seen the elderly woman being carried into the ambulance, adding that her injuries had made him “feel really emotional”.

“I thought I might cry. It was really scary. I’ve been here for seven years, and I have seen people driving really fast along this road – sometimes 40 or 50 mph.

“I’ve been warning the police officers who come in for a trim that something like this could happen.”

Thames Valley Police has confirmed that the cordon and road closure along West Street put in place earlier this afternoon has now been lifted. 

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