Park Royal car accident - driver charged

[Taunton]

However did this happen? Crash on A40 in middle of night seems to have dropped onto the car park of the Tesla dealer, gone right across, through the fence, and down onto "the tracks", which seems to actually mean the eastbound Piccadilly Line Park Royal platform.

Horror crash on A40 leaves one woman dead, three others injured

A local said he heard an ‘almighty bang’

www.standard.co.uk

This is the horrific moment a Range Rover loses control before careering into a Tesla and flipping onto a railway line at Park Royal station.

The Range Rover - with two passengers inside - left the road and smashed through fences, stationary Tesla cars before“skidding” along a waiting room roof before landing on the Piccadilly Line just before 4am....

 

[Dstock7080]

which seems to actually mean the eastbound Piccadilly Line Park Royal platform.

eastbound track is correct.

 

[Dave W]

Considering how much street furniture is in the way the vehicle must have been travelling at some speed to get there in that state. I wonder if the reported collision with the Tesla may actually be one on the dealership forecourt and the Range Rover ended up there before hitting anything? - such discrepancies are often noted in the immediate aftermath of incidents.

Really though, looking at the satellite image, my only question is... How??

 

[Watto1990]

Considering how much street furniture is in the way the vehicle must have been travelling at some speed to get there in that state. I wonder if the reported collision with the Tesla may actually be one on the dealership forecourt and the Range Rover ended up there before hitting anything? - such discrepancies are often noted in the immediate aftermath of incidents.

Really though, looking at the satellite image, my only question is... How??

I’ve been shown some CCTV footage and the thing was going at a ludicrous speed. Surprised anyone survived it at all.

 

[bramling]

I’ve been shown some CCTV footage and the thing was going at a ludicrous speed. Surprised anyone survived it at all.

Whilst BMW drivers have always attracted the stereotypical types, albeit now being largely replaced by Audi, Range Rovers seem to slip under the radar as being another brand which very much attracts more than its fair share of problem people. I’m afraid in my experience the infamous saying about hedgehogs is spot on.

 

[Snow1964]

There are some more photos on BBC,

Appears to be demolished signpost at end of a A40 slip road, broken railings guarding a cycle path, broken railings into Tesla dealership, broken chargers, then a hole in fence at other side of Tesla site where it appears car must have gone over the station roof near bottom of stairway. Before dropping onto the tracks

So looks like managed to get past at least 4 obstacles which suggests must have been moving very fast

Park Royal crash: Woman killed as car ends up on Tube tracks

A Range Rover ends up on the tracks after hitting a Tesla by Park Royal Tube station.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Dave W]

Putting 2+2 together a bit, and perhaps getting 5 (or 4.5), but it sounds like the woman was probably charging her Tesla, minding her own business, when almost 3 tons of metal has appeared on the scene, likely going very fast. I suspect she's very, very lucky.

Looking at the road layout and damage (I'm not familiar with the Westway east of Hangar Lane so feel free to correct), has the driver of the Range Rover come down that service road towards the dealership, perhaps having missed the on-slip?

 

[swt_passenger]

Putting 2+2 together a bit, and perhaps getting 5 (or 4.5), but it sounds like the woman was probably charging her Tesla, minding her own business, when almost 3 tons of metal has appeared on the scene, likely going very fast. I suspect she's very, very lucky.

Looking at the road layout and damage (I'm not familiar with the Westway east of Hangar Lane so feel free to correct), has the driver of the Range Rover come down that service road towards the dealership, perhaps having missed the on-slip?

The longer view photo on the BBC report also suggests the dealership car park is well below the level of what looks like a pedestrian walkway or ramp. The Range Rover must have hit something a glancing blow that caused it to launch itself upwards again.

I doubt LU ever assessed the risk of a road vehicle getting onto the tracks in that manner.

(Oh, and by the way, I wonder if people will jump to completely the wrong conclusion when they see the word Tesla in an accident report.)

 

[nlt]

Mail Online's graphic can't be far wrong. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ead-three-injured-Piccadilly-Line-closes.html

 

[swt_passenger]

Mail Online's graphic can't be far wrong. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ead-three-injured-Piccadilly-Line-closes.html

One of those photos, (the one with all the yellow crime scene markers), suggests to me the Range Rover started out from the nearside lane of the A40 rather than the service road?

 

[Snow1964]

Mail Online's graphic can't be far wrong. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ead-three-injured-Piccadilly-Line-closes.html

I see in that link that a platform edge piece has been smashed out, so now a gap in platform

 

[jfollows]

Mail Online's graphic can't be far wrong. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ead-three-injured-Piccadilly-Line-closes.html

"airbourne" .... oh for some sub-editors!

 

[swt_passenger]

"airbourne" .... oh for some sub-editors!

RAIB are quoted as not getting involved, but maybe they’ll be passing it on to the AAIB…

 

[Mawkie]

This video is a CCTV image (perhaps from a Tesla) showing the speed of the Range Rover as it came off the A40. It then went through the car park, before it launched over a different parked Tesla and landed on the tracks.
View attachment VID-20220822-WA0004.mp4

 

[AM9]

Just before the Range Rover came through the railings, at 0:09 and 0:10 seconds in, you can see two flashes refelected on the Twin lamp standard that stands on the central reservation. That would seem to be the headlights of the car asit rolled over, possibly, initiated by hitting the nearside kerb at some speed on the A40 westbound carriageway. It must have been well above the 40mph speed limit, - 80mph? There are plenty of drivers who think that speed limits don't apply to them in the small hours.

 

[Mawkie]

Just before the Range Rover came through the railings, at 0:09 and 0:10 seconds in, you can see two flashes refelected on the Twin lamp standard that stands on the central reservation. That would seem to be the headlights of the car asit rolled over, possibly, initiated by hitting the nearside kerb at some speed on the A40 westbound carriageway. It must have been well above the 40mph speed limit, - 80mph? There are plenty of drivers who think that speed limits don't apply to them in the small hours.

I saw those flashes and thought it was a reflection of a pursuing police vehicle. There also appears to be a stationary police vehicle in the top right of frame, which I presumed was forming some kind of road block. It's interesting to hear a different point of view from the same piece of footage.

(I only have second hand info, but from what I understand, the Range Rover was involved in a robbery.)

 

[Dave W]

One of those photos, (the one with all the yellow crime scene markers), suggests to me the Range Rover started out from the nearside lane of the A40 rather than the service road?

Yes I think it's pretty clear from that - no way it could have been coming down the service road at that angle (to be fair having a look on Street View the apparent demolished sign is also demolished in its latest image (June '21) - so perhaps a red herring?)

That video is horrifying - whatever speed it was doing pretty safe to say it probably wasn't 40... The Met have now revised their statement of events to say it was a man charging his Tesla, not a woman - whoever it was, they have indeed had an astonishing lucky escape per the photos.

At that speed, with the mess the vehicle has ended up in, I'm surprised anyone has survived at all.

 

[Busaholic]

Putting 2+2 together a bit, and perhaps getting 5 (or 4.5), but it sounds like the woman was probably charging her Tesla, minding her own business, when almost 3 tons of metal has appeared on the scene, likely going very fast. I suspect she's very, very lucky.

Looking at the road layout and damage (I'm not familiar with the Westway east of Hangar Lane so feel free to correct), has the driver of the Range Rover come down that service road towards the dealership, perhaps having missed the on-slip?

The woman was in the Range Rover. A man in his 50s was with the Tesla and was treated at the scene. Source = corrected BBC report as outlined in post no. 8 above.

 

[Dave W]

The woman was in the Range Rover. A man in his 50s was with the Tesla and was treated at the scene. Source = corrected BBC report as outlined in post no. 8 above.

That video is horrifying - whatever speed it was doing pretty safe to say it probably wasn't 40... The Met have now revised their statement of events to say it was a man charging his Tesla, not a woman - whoever it was, they have indeed had an astonishing lucky escape per the photos.

Thanks, but I had already put that right myself

 

[rebmcr]

At that speed, with the mess the vehicle has ended up in, I'm surprised anyone has survived at all.

The 'mess' of the vehicle is the crumple zones doing their job. Must have been tumbling for the front and rear sections to have been 'used up', but other than the roof line being bent inwards on the driver's side, the seated area seems to have performed as a survival cell (as well as could be expected).

 

[dosxuk]

There also appears to be a stationary police vehicle in the top right of frame, which I presumed was forming some kind of road block.

If you mean the L shaped blue light in the top right, that appears to be some sort of light in that window - it's even visible in the daytime street view image of the hotel.

 

[Mawkie]

If you mean the L shaped blue light in the top right, that appears to be some sort of light in that window - it's even visible in the daytime street view image of the hotel.

Thanks. I see what I want to see sometimes.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Since the only recognisable parts of the Range Rover is the basic bodyshell shape and the wheels, I've managed to narrow it down to a Range Rover Sport SVR, a car with 575 horsepower, a top speed of 176mph, a 0-60 of less than 5 seconds and a gross weight of 3 tons. It's fairly easy to see how the car was able to do the damage that it did.

 

[contrex]

Published length is 4946 mm, and the entire vehicle appears to pass the charger on the right in 2-3 frames (frames 322, 323 & 324). The frame rate is 30 fps, so if it took 0.1 second to travel its own length, that is in round numbers 50 metres/sec, or 111 mph, so a very wild guess might be that it was doing 100 mph or more as it entered the frame. If it was not travelling in a linear fashion (i.e. tumbling) then that could affect the figure, I suppose.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Since the only recognisable parts of the Range Rover is the basic bodyshell shape and the wheels, I've managed to narrow it down to a Range Rover Sport SVR, a car with 575 horsepower, a top speed of 176mph, a 0-60 of less than 5 seconds and a gross weight of 3 tons. It's fairly easy to see how the car was able to do the damage that it did.

Looking at the somewhat squashed state of the motor after the accident and the distance it went after leaving the road, it must have been going at a fair percentage of its maximum speed.

The official report will no doubt make interesting reading.

 

[bspahh]

This video is a CCTV image (perhaps from a Tesla) showing the speed of the Range Rover as it came off the A40. It then went through the car park, before it launched over a different parked Tesla and landed on the tracks.
View attachment 119613

It takes 0.24 seconds (from 10.60 to 10.84 seconds) to go from one side of the frame to the other. From Google Earth, it looks like the distance across the frame is ~6.5m. That would be an average speed is 58mph after going through 2 railings.

 

[sannox]

Yeesh that is a horrendous one. Some extremely fortunate people.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Published length is 4946 mm, and the entire vehicle appears to pass the charger on the right in 2-3 frames (frames 322, 323 & 324). The frame rate is 30 fps, so if it took 0.1 second to travel its own length, that is in round numbers 50 metres/sec, or 111 mph. if it was not travelling in a linear fashion (i.e. tumbling) then that could affect the figure?

From slowing down the video, the car appears to hit the first charger head on and is then rotated round by it.

Looking at the somewhat squashed state of the motor after the accident and the distance it went after leaving the road, it must have been going at a fair percentage of its maximum speed.

Well @contrex estimated 111mph at the first charger and @bspahh estimated 58mph once it had finished demolishing everything, so it was going at quite a high speed regardless.

It takes 0.24 seconds (from 10.60 to 10.84 seconds) to go from one side of the frame to the other. From Google Earth, it looks like the distance across the frame is ~6.5m. That would be an average speed is 58mph after going through 2 railings.

And wiping out 4 charging points, flattening 2 of them.

 

[antharro]

111mph in a 40mph. Amazing. Someone's darwin award cost someone else their life. So sad, and so avoidable. I looked at Google Maps earlier and wondered if the RR had come off the road, crashed through the railings, then had enough speed/momentum left that it used the Tesla as a ramp to launch it up into the station.

 

[Mawkie]

A few more pics of the car on the track.

Was interesting to see the timings of the recovery. Engineering train with a crane on site and available from 1100hrs. First westbound train left Acton shortly after 1530hrs. That seemed fast to me, but I don't really have anything to compare it with.