Basingstoke police car crash driver speaks out

Chris Clarke-Williams was driving his Nissan Leaf with his son in the passenger seat on February 27 when the crash happened outside the King of Wessex Pub, in Winchester Road, at just after 2pm.

The incident resulted in the road being closed for several hours as emergency services including fire, police and ambulance dealt with the aftermath.

Despite Chris’s car ending up crashing into the wall of a house with its wheels in the air, he managed to escape relatively unharmed.

READ MORE: Police car crash in Basingstoke as it unfolded in pictures

Talking to the Gazette about the moment it happened, the 71-year-old former IT worker, said: “I was pulling out of Pittard Road with my eldest son in the passenger seat who I was taking to a doctor’s appointment. I looked both ways and didn’t see anything coming so I pulled out going right towards the Winchester Road roundabout.

“I felt a jolt and heard a very loud bang and realised something had hit us. I thought ‘what the blazes was that?’.

“People came over quickly to ask if we were alright and the police were at the scene within a minute.”

The father-of-four is disabled and was unable to get out of his car following the crash because the door wouldn’t open properly.

He said: “The car went across the road and before I could take any action it ended up with both front wheels off the ground so I couldn’t back away. I was able to open the door just over a foot but I can’t move because of my disability so I waited half an hour.”

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His 36-year-old son was complaining of neck pain, but Chris said paramedics prioritised the officers in the police car because they had suffered more serious injuries.

Chris, who has spinal stenosis and is a support worker for Camrose and The Safe as well as a volunteer for Night Shelter, eventually managed to climb out of his car before being passed his crutches which he uses to walk.

He was checked over by paramedics for whiplash and a headache but was otherwise fine.

He said: “The fire brigade wanted to disconnect the supply to the car because that’s their protocol for electric cars. I was quite calm until they said they were doing their crash protocol if it catches fire and I thought ‘gosh, I could be roasted’.”

The grandfather-of-four, who remained remarkably calm throughout the ordeal, said his son suffered bruising down the left side of his body and had been leaning against the side of the car when it was hit.

Chris, from Hammond Road, is now waiting to hear what happens next. 

However, rather than feeling shaken by the incident, he said it is more of an inconvenience because he is unable to use his car, which may be written off.

“I do rely on my car,” he said. “This does knock your confidence."

He said he hoped the incident would lead to the police reviewing their procedures, adding: “I think they should have used their sirens when approaching a road junction. It’s not easy to see them. You can see a bit around the corner but it’s limited. It must have been one second between looking up the road and looking at where I’m going to turn out because I don’t want to hit anyone.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire Constabulary said: "All injuries turned out to be minor. Although at first, one of the people injured had a suspected serious injury, this was not the case.

"We can’t comment further at this stage as it is an active investigation."