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Ellie Goulding intervenes in bizarre crash after lorry pushes car sideways down major road ‘without noticing’

‘I honestly didn’t see him’, HGV driver says

Vincent Wood
Monday 16 December 2019 16:52 EST
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Witnesses said the car had been pushed along by the lorry for around a mile before it was flagged down
Witnesses said the car had been pushed along by the lorry for around a mile before it was flagged down (Twitter/@ShaanAssi99)

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An investigation has been launched after a Royal Mail lorry was caught on camera pushing a car sideways along the A40 at high speed – with the vehicle only coming to a stop once it was flagged down by other drivers including singer songwriter Ellie Goulding.

The vehicle had been driving eastbound in the direction of the nearby Princess Royal Distribution Centre in Ealing, west London at around 10am when it collided with the Golf GTI.

In video footage of the event, people can be heard claiming the Royal Mail driver had t-boned the vehicle "a mile" before he stopped.

Footage of the incident caught by the passenger of a nearby car showed vehicles slowing around the lorry, blasting their horns in an attempt to make its driver stop.

The cab, which did not have a trailer affixed, grinds to a halt. The driver can then be heard leaning out of his window and saying: “Yeah, what’s wrong?”

A nearby motorist replied: “What the f**k are you doing, man?”

Realising what has happened the driver of the lorry goes on to say that “I honestly didn’t see him”, before checking on the man in the smaller vehicle.

The man who had been trapped inside the Golf appears to be conscious and responsive in the video. A police spokesperson said no one was harmed in the incident.

'Starry Eyed' hitmaker Ellie Goulding revealed on Instagram that her driver, Guy, was one of the motorists who stopped to help, with Ellie herself checking on the driver of the car.

She told her 14.4 million Instagram followers: "On a side note, I can't believe the first instinct of the other drivers who got out was to instantly start filming on their phones and shout abuse at the poor shocked driver, not even checking the other driver was okay. What on earth."

A Royal Mail spokesperson said the company had launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the apparent collision.

“We are very concerned about this incident”, the spokesperson said, adding: “We sincerely hope that no one was hurt.”

“We are investigating as a matter of urgency.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the officers came across the incident while on a routine patrol.

They added: “Officers spoke with both parties. No arrests were made.”

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