Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Primary kids’ ‘anti-knife crime’ class
Pensioner, 80, dies after M-way smash with lorry
AN ELDERLY motorist taking part in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run died in a crash after “accidentally” joining a motorway.
The 80-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene after his 1903 Knox Runabout “Old Porcupine” car – top speed 35mph – was hit by a lorry.
His female passenger, thought to be his wife, suffered serious injuries and was flown to hospital.
The accident happened just off the route of the rally, which took place yesterday morning.
It is feared the victim accidentally joined the M23 at nearby junction 7, instead of staying on the parallel A23 event route. The crash happened at around 10am near Hooley, Surrey.
Police, paramedics and fire crews rushed to the southbound carriageway. The female passenger, understood to have suffered head injuries, was airlifted to St George’s
Hospital in Tooting, South
West London.
A spokesman for
Surrey Police said:
“The collision, involving a car and an
HGV, took place around 10am. The driver of the car, an
80-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the collision and a female passenger has been taken to hospital with serious injuries.”
A spokesman for the event, which began in Hyde Park and is restricted to vehicles made before 1905, said: “We can confirm the car had been entered in the run. It had left the route, which does not include the M23 where the collision took place.”
The tragedy comes two years after a man died in a four-car collision on Reigate Hill while taking part in the same event.
Police want any witnesses or those with dashcam footage of yesterday’s crash to get in touch on 101.
SELF-DEFENCE classes to combat knife attacks have been given to seven-yearold school pupils.
A martial arts expert and a knife crime charity have spoken to youngsters aged seven to 10 about choosing “a better path”.
The school, Copenhagen Primary in Islington, North London, is near the scene of the fatal street stabbing of Nedim Bilgin, 17, earlier this year.
Headteacher Amardeep Panesar said: “Parents are frightened to let their children out and they could be losing part of their childhood.”
Ejiro Okosieme, of knife crime charity Give Back London, said: “Year five and six is the starting point to transition to a bad path. If we can stop it there, we could save lives.”