Dramatic video footage shows lorry rolling down hill and crashing into car

The incident took place on the town's Gardiner Road last Tuesday, when a lorry carrying two shipping containers careered down the residential street. READ MORE: Lorry 'rolls down hill' and smashes through front gardens[1] When the Courier spoke to residents last week, some said  that the lorry had "rolled down the hill" from outside nearby Preston Lodge High School, but it was not clear how that had occurred.

There were no pupils in the area due to the school holidays. East Lothian Council said last week that it was not aware of any council deliveries being made to the school that day. No-one from FES, the company which manages some school buildings for the local authority, would respond to the Courier's requests for a comment.

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It is not known if FES did, or did not, have any connection to the the lorry being in the vicinity.  However, pictures this week shared with the Courier show two very similar shipping containers in the school car park and a lorry arriving on the street adjacent to the school without a load at 8.19am on the day of the incident. At 10.42am, the ORD-branded flatbed lorry was seen travelling along the street carrying a blue container; then at 11.29am, the lorry can be seen driving on the street with a brown container.

A doorbell camera shows workmen by the school, with the containers inside the car park in the early hours of the morning on the day of the incident (Image: Contributed) At 11.31am, minutes before the incident, the vehicle can be seen parking by a gate into the school grounds. The owner of the pictures, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: "There has been containers back and fourth at the school for months for work that happened months ago.

I am happy no one was hurt." Meanwhile, video footage shared with the Courier from a neighbour's Ring doorbell shows the out-of-control lorry travelling down Gardiner Road at 11.33am and striking a Hyundai i20 car. The lorry has since been recovered from the front gardens of Gardiner Road, Prestonpans. (Image: NQ Staff)

It has been alleged that the driver was not at the wheel when they lorry started to move off. Police Scotland have confirmed that enquiries into the incident are still ongoing. In light of the videos and images seen by the Courier, we again contacted East Lothian Council.

However, a spokesperson said it would not be appropriate for the council  to comment due to the ongoing police investigation. ORD, a Bathgate-based company which supplies shipping containers, again did not respond to requests for comment. DJ Johnston-Smith, chair of Prestonpans Community Council, said: "The footage obtained by the Courier vividly illustrates how serious this accident was and just how fortunate we were that the pupils of Preston Lodge were on holiday and that no one was walking or driving in the street when it happened.

"Hopefully a thorough investigation is now taking place to understand fully why the vehicle lost control so that such incidences are avoided in the future."

References

1. ^ Lorry 'rolls down hill' and smashes through front gardens (www.eastlothiancourier.com)