Three “freak” road accidents hit Chelsea within EIGHT days, causing extensive damage and leaving onlookers astonished. But, thankfully, no one was seriously injured – not even the drivers.
An Out of Service double-decker bus careered through a garden Lamont Road and alighted against with a house on Tuesday 29th September.
Then, on Saturday 3rd October, a black taxi swerved onto the pavement of the King’s Road and narrowly missed driving into the Ivy Asia restaurant.
Two days later, on Monday 5 October, a lorry travelling at speed ripped a tree out of the ground in Royal Hospital Road before wiping out a lamppost.
All three incidents were documented on The Citizen’s Instagram feed and featured remarkable live footage and photos submitted by our loyal readers.
Since the incidents, The Citizen has been seeking further information, with limited results.
The Met Police said it does not “provide responses to road traffic collisions which are not fatal incidents”.
There was a certain degree of passing the buck. Two officials at Transport for London (TfL) suggested contacting the Met. A spokesman for RBKC council was unable to help and suggested us submitting a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. The result is a frustration continuous loop of referrals that provide no full explanation as to what happened in any of the accidents.
The London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade provided some details. Here is what is known and what little more we found out…
1. 29th September, Lamont Road SW10: Double-decker bus makes an unscheduled stop … at a house
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 7.55am on Tuesday 29 September to reports of a road traffic collision on Lamont Road, SW10. We sent an ambulance crew and a clinical team manager to the scene. We treated a patient at the scene and took them to hospital.”
TfL provided its fullest response, though it places the crash on Limerston Street, which does not match footage and photographs seen by us. A TfL spokesperson said: “There was a collision involving an out of service bus and a parked car on Limerston Street on 29 September, where the bus then made contact with a nearby residential building. This resulted in some minor damage to the house and fortunately there were no reported injuries. Safety is our top priority, and Arriva London’s investigations into what happened are still ongoing.”
That conflicts with the Ambulance Service’s account, which says a patient was taken to hospital and places the collision on Lamont Road, not Limerston Street.
TfL said the incident happened around 7.30am and involved a route No.19 bus.
Arriva, the bus operator, said: “Responsibility for the route and its operation sits with Transport for London (TfL), which is best placed to provide information about the service.”
Asked whether the driver remained licensed, it said: “We would never comment on individual employees’ employment or licensing matters, or on any internal processes relating to them.”
2. 3rd October, the King’s Road SW3: Black taxi mounts pavement and hits pedestrian by Ivy Asia restaurant
The following statement appears to relate to the taxi crash outside Ivy Asia:
Met Engage post referring to the collision by Ivy Asia
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Firefighters from Chelsea Fire Station responded to a road traffic collision on King’s Road, Chelsea. The incident involved a single vehicle that had struck a pedestrian. Firefighters provided Immediate Emergency Care prior to the arrival of the London Ambulance Service and the individual being removed to hospital. The Brigade was notified about the incident at 1254, and the incident was over for crews by 1316.”
The London Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 12:51pm Saturday 3 October to reports of a road traffic collision on the King’s Road, Chelsea. We sent an ambulance crew and a paramedic in a fast response car. We treated two patients at the scene and took one to a local hospital.”
3. 5th October, Royal Hospital Road SW3: Lorry travelling at speed rips out tree and lamppost
The council confirmed the damage at the junction of Royal Hospital Road and the Chelsea Embankment. A council post on the day (below) said a traffic collision had knocked down a tree and lamppost, damaged the pavement and exposed some power cabling. It did not say who or what was involved, so The Citizen cannot independently confirm it was a lorry.
RBKC post
Despite that post, the council would not comment further without an FOI request.
Footage taken by TCC shows the torn down tree and knocked over lamppost.
Taken together, the responses leave basic questions unanswered: who was hurt, how badly, what caused each crash, and whether the drivers are still licensed. Despite repeated requests, TCC still does not know the full outcome of any of the three incidents. The Met Police did not comment on any of them beyond its general policy, and the council pointed TCC towards FOI requests. TCC is awaiting further statements from TfL.
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