‘Almighty bang’ as lorry overturns at roundabout

Emergency crews rushed to one of the busiest roundabouts in the city yesterday after a lorry flipped causing traffic chaos for hundreds of drivers in Southampton. A lorry carrying refrigerated goods came crashing down onto the tarmac at the Redbridge roundabout just after 1pm on Thursday, June 19, with police swiftly shutting off the southbound lane to traffic. Crews from Southampton City Council and Balfour Beatty attended the scene to assess the roundabout and flyover for any damage, while Ravenscroft Motors performed the recovery of the 14-wheleer.

A spokesperson for Hampshire police said officers were called at 1.04pm to reports of a single vehicle crash on Redbridge Causeway, involving a lorry. ADVERTISEMENT The spokesperson added: "Officers are currently on scene.

"To enable us to deal with this incident, a road closure has been put in place. We would ask people avoid the area at this time." It is understood by the Echo that the driver was taken into the care of paramedics.

READ MORE: New Forest District Council defends wheelie bin launch[1] Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service also attended the scene, with a spokesperson adding: "Crews were called to an incident on Redbridge roundabout where a heavy goods vehicle carrying refrigerated goods had overturned on its side. The driver is in the care of the South Central Ambulance Service.

"Crews from Redbridge, Totton and St Mary's attended the scene. The service stop message was at 13:42 but two crews remain at the scene for scene safety." ADVERTISEMENT

One resident who lives nearby to the roundabout said he could hear a huge crash from his home. He said: "We heard this almighty bang and straight away. I knew a large vehicle had probably flipped over around the roundabout.

"With this being one of the busiest roundabouts in the city, it's definitely going to cause some traffic chaos for the next few hours." Another Redbridge resident said he could also hear the crash from his house and cycled down on his bike to have a look. He said: "This is the first big roundabout a lot of these lorries hit after the docks.

"I think it's really lucky that another car wasn't crushed by the weight of the lorry falling down.

It's such a busy roundabout it could've easily resulted in an absolute disaster."

References

1. ^ New Forest District Council defends wheelie bin launch (www.dailyecho.co.uk)