Lorry crash

Four Eyes

A lorry overturned at the bottom of SGR under the railway bridges this morning at about 9.15. I got there just as the police were cordoning off the area. I couldn't work out whether it had crashed or whether it was too high to get under the bridge. It looked nasty though. Did anyone see or know what happened?

SimonB

I got there at around the same time. From my angle it looked like the lorry was too tall for the bridge and the top layer had been scraped away. It then seems to have tipped on a 45o angle. Too many police and fire engines to get a proper look though. I hope nobody was hurt

unaesthetic

i saw that happen to a bus a couple of years ago

NoOne

my car was the one next to it with the parking ticket on it haha oops thank god it fell the other way and not on top of the car. Got a nice suprise from the transport police telling me to move it then I watched them drag it along on it's side before trying to get it back upright. The police said the driver was fine.

tosscat

The scraped road is very impressive - there's masses of detrius.

Colette

Ooh, that might make my bike ride home more interesting. Briefly.

Mike from London

I saw it happen - I was walking under the bridge at the time. There was a gigantic crash, the lorry hit the bridge, made a nice arc through the air, bounced across the road and fell sideways on the pavement. There was an agonising moment when it hung on two wheels before coming down. It seemed to be empty. People were running in all directions and I think it missed one or two pedestrians by inches. Luckily I was on the opposite side of the road. No apparent casualties but the cop said a lot of people were in shock.

Now I know what an eight ton truck sounds like when it hits a bridge.

Colette

Blimey - that's quite an impressive description. I'm glad SG.org now has it's own on-location reporters.
Talking of which, and not strictly SGR related, I know, but the section of Gillespie rd where the little council estate is - between the nature reserve and St Thomas's rd - was all blocked off by police tape on my way home from work. Looked pretty serious. There were loads of important-looking police and vans.

dominic

Pictures anybody?

matt

unaesthetic: me too!

Ali

Still blocked off this morning with Police guarding the entry to Gillespie Park near to Arsenal tube station.

One Policeman was guarding the path near some bushes and saw what looked forensics type people when I cycled past last night (had to wheel the bike past the taped off area so got a good view)

tosscat

#WARNING - Images unsuitable for those sensitive to negativity.

tosscat


tosscat


Mike from London

Looks bad - this kind of thing lowers the area. Should have been an Ocado van. ;-)

poxy

I'm struggling to see how the lorry ended up on its side. Usually, too-high vehicles end up just wedged under the bridge. If it was too high how did it have room in which to roll over?

Mike from London

To be technical about it, I think this was a combined top-rip, side-swipe, brown-trousers manoeuvre - very difficult one to accomplish. The top of the lorry wasn't that tough and just peeled off - it's that white stuff in the pictures. So it didn't stop it. But as he hit the driver simultaneously slammed on the brakes and yanked the wheel over sending the lorry across the road, ending with it toppling slowly sideways - very balletic. I'll leave the brown trousers bit to your imagination. I'll bet the driver wasn't the only one who had to get his keks dry-cleaned, by the way.

poxy

That makes sense. The photos don't do justice to the damage to the lorry. Thanks.

matt

keks I love that word, don't hear it enough these days

Mike from London

Here's another one. Strides.

It's the answer to today's Guardian Crossword 20 down, by the way. Hope that didn't spoil anyone's fun.

katiejane

shreddies

unaesthetic

is shreddies not antipodean? i remember keks and strides from back oop north but only seem to have encountered aussies in their shreddies... as it were...

Colette

I thought one ate shreddies.
Not in France though.

andy

These photos are ace. It's like real news.

poxy

Colette: <a href="http://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/content/islington/gazette/news/story.aspx?brand=ISLGOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsislg&itemid=WeED20 Jun 2008 16:31:56:430" target="blank">Re your question about Gillespie Road upthread</a>

Colette

Ah, yes, thanks Poxy, I saw that a few days ago.

krappyrubsnif

Who remembers this in June 2008? There was another, teeny and insignificant, lorry strike under the bridge on Thursday. I was walking under the bridge when the dramatic 2008 lorry crash happened, I'll put pictures on Twitter.