130 cars pile up in A249 Sheppey Crossing crash in Kent, UK

The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then causes another similar change, and so on in linear sequence.

Remember the Test at Chepauk in mid 1970s … the short athletic Alan Knott literally swept everything and wicket keeping skills was a great treat watch.. those were the days when England had the most feared leftarm spinner Derek Underwood who was deadly on sticky wickets. Both of them came from Kent…. ~ a county in England which has a nominal border with France through the Channel tunnel and a boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. Kent's location between London and continental Europe has led to it being in the front line of several conflicts, including the Battle of Britain during World War II.

The well known ports are : the Port of Dover – one of the busiest ports;  the Port of Ramsgate and Royal Harbour, Ramsgate are harbours situated in Ramsgate, and London Thamesport, a container seaport on the River Medway, serving the North Sea. Because of its abundance of orchards and hop gardens, Kent is traditionally known as "The Garden of England".  

Kent is in news for car crash with injuries to many people, in a series of crashes involving some 130 vehicles  in thick fog on the A249 Sheppey crossing in Kent. It is reported that emergency services are still dealing with some of the more seriously injured casualties as well as the people who walked away from their vehicles. Police have said this crossing is going to be shut, potentially, for the entire day. The 130 vehicles involved in the incident will all have to be moved but before that officers have to begin an investigation into the causes of the crash. Early reports said 200 people had been hurt, but police later revised the figure. Firefighters said they had freed five people from their vehicles on the southbound carriageway.

One witness is quoted as saying that visibility had been very poor at the time of the crash but drivers were approaching the crossing with no lights. Others at the scene described a mass of tangled cars, lorries, and a car transporter. Some reports said the crash went on for 10 minutes as cars continuously collided with each other. Another driver said the scene was "horrendous" and described seeing cars under lorries and people lying on the floor. He said visibility was about 10 to 20 yards when he approached the bridge and saw five cars smashed into each other with one across the outside lane. Aerial footage shows the aftermath of the collisions, which happened in thick fog

It was chaos in Kent as scores are injured in pile-up on mist-covered bridge which lasted 10  minutes involving more than 100 vehicles.  Described as carnage on new Sheppey crossing bridge on A249 in Kent at 7.15am, it saw cars and lorries crash into each other; hundred +vehicles piled up on a bridge in heavy fog has left people shaken.  Nobody is believed to have died in the A249 pile-up which saw visibility drop to just 20 yards, but there were reports of some motorists driving ‘like idiots’. The scene was full of buckled cars, lorries and even a car transporter as people waited at the side of the road to receive help from emergency services. People were reportedly trapped and 30 ambulances and response vehicles went to the scene, with some casualties receiving treatment at the roadside. 

Motorists involved could well have been travelling far too close to the vehicle in front and not using their fog lights, said AA president.  A good thinking lorry driver who saw the start of the accident used his truck to block the entrance to the bridge and stop more cars piling into the crash, a witness said.  Conservative MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey Gordon Henderson said he would be talking to the authorities about the accident.

Tailpiece : The Duke of Kent is a title which has been created various times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of George V. As of 2013, the title is held by Prince Edward.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

News of the crash  collated from various sources including BBC and Daily Mail. Photos courtesy : dailymail.co.uk