17 hurt as ‘boy racers’ crash into crowd
AT LEAST 17 people were injured – two seriously – when a high-speed car street rally ended in horror after two vehicles collided then ploughed into spectators.
Witnesses said the regular “car cruise” event descended into mayhem after drivers pulled off reckless manoeuvres and reached speeds of up to 70mph.
One off-duty nurse told how she tended victims who were left lying in pools of blood after being mowed down on the dual carriageway where the meet was held.
Organisers were forced to deny holding a “boy racers” convention and promised to scrap the meetings after 10 accident-free years.
Rix Sidhu of Cruise-Herts said the accident happened when a Nissan 350Z and a Toyota GT86 collided at the event in Stevenage, Herts.
He said drivers were meant to park their high-powered vehicles on a retail park while spectators admired them.
But he said a number of participants had “gone rogue” as friends tried to capture the high-speed twists and turns on camera to upload on social media.
“We are devastated,” he said. “I’m thankful that nobody died. I’ve been running this for 10 years and we have never had one incident.
“We held the meet in a car park with a speed bump at the entrance. But unfortunately some people went a bit rogue. We try and stop that, we urge people, urge them on social media beforehand, not to go out on the roads, not to risk injury or anything.”
He claimed the Toyota had tried to perform a “donut manoeuvre” in a car park before pulling out on to the main road.
“Then it was hit by the Nissan, which was coming at speed – I’d say at least 60 or 70mph. The cars collided and then went into the crowd at speed. There were several younger people in the crowd, but they weren’t kids. They were about 18 years old-plus. It was horrific, the crash.”
Off-duty nurse Kimberly Chowdary said: “There were people there with their families, – all different ages. I just saw people on the ground so I just instantly got down on the floor and helped a young girl.
“I could see she was bleeding from her head. I just went into nurse mode and tried to do what I could really.”
Hertfordshire Police said there had been no arrests but the drivers of the two cars that collided had been identified.
Assistant Chief Constable Nathan Briant said the pair were interviewed as part of the ongoing investigation.
Mr Briant said: “It is now understood that an organiser had publicised the meeting on social media as a charity event.”
He added that an investigations team has identified 130 witnesses and would be collecting their statements.