Pembrokeshire campsite crash: Car ‘going at least three times speed limit’ struck family’s tent with baby inside
A baby was inside the tent that was struck by a car after it veered off the road and crashed into a campsite – leaving two people in a serious condition and seven others injured.
Clare Harris, who runs the Newgale campsite in Pembrokeshire with her husband Mike, said the baby is “okay” after the ordeal.
It is not clear if the child is one of those who required hospital treatment.
Two people are in a serious condition in hospital after a blue Ford Fiesta collided with a number of people and the tent shortly after 10.30pm on Saturday.
One person was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales, the Welsh Ambulance Service said.
Four were taken by ambulance to Glangwilli Hospital, while one was taken to Morriston Hospital.
Mr Harris said the car was going “at least three times the speed limit” when it “had to brake and lost control”.
“I didn’t realise a car could go so fast down the road,” he said. “It was going at 80 or 90mph in a 30mph [zone].
“It catapulted from the road because of the speed he was going, over the ditch separating the campsite and main road and landed about 100m from where the driver started braking.
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“It turned three full turns and landed on its wheels. It rolled through a tent belonging to a family. The baby was in a cot.
“The vehicle then rolled and rested on top of three people. The campers managed to lift the vehicle 90 degrees to tilt it forward and rest on its side. They freed the three people.”
He added: “Miraculously there was no fatalities. There are no life-threatening injuries but life-changing injuries of varying degrees.”
Ms Harris said: “The car was speeding down the hill, realised it needed to slow down and tried to brake.
“It flipped and rolled several times, and crashed into the tent.
“There was a young child, a baby, in the tent at the time, thankfully they are okay.
“It’s a tragic accident that the police are dealing with, that’s all we can say at the moment.”
Image: HM Coastguard organised a helicopter landing site and supported paramedics during the incident. Pic: HM Coastguard
Levi Davies, 24, from Gwent, was staying on the campsite when the crash happened.
He said: “There was nine of us in our group. We heard the tyres screeching as they came round the corner and then a loud bang as the car came over the bank and onto the campsite.
“In blind panic we ran out… The car, when we got there, there was one person still inside it, he had blood on him.
“There was two campers, one was really bad, he was in a really bad way.
“One of them, their leg was really bad, I’m not sure what other injuries they sustained.”
He added: “There was a lot of noise, a lot of screaming and shouting, a lot of people came out of nowhere, you don’t see a lot of people during the day, and then everyone was just there.
“A lot of noise.”
The car is believed to have been travelling from the village of Roch towards St Davids when it crashed off the A487.
Dyfed Powys Police said passengers in the car were among those injured.
Image: Flowers appear to have been laid at the scene
Police said in a statement: “The road was closed to allow investigations and reopened at around 7.45am today.
“Officers are appealing for any information regarding the vehicle, a blue Ford Fiesta, and its occupants.
“We are especially interested in any dashcam footage or doorbell footage which may have captured the vehicle being driven from Roch to the scene of the collision at Newgale.”
HM Coastguard in Broad Haven said: “The team were paged at 11.23pm last night to assist with multi-agency incident in Newgale.
“We organised a helicopter site and supported paramedics with casualty care.”
A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called yesterday at around 22:40 to reports of an incident at Newgale Campsite, Pembrokeshire.
“We sent six emergency ambulances, one duty operations manager, one Cymru high acuity response unit and our crews were supported on scene by the emergency medical and retrieval transfer service and search and rescue helicopter.
“One patient was flown to University Hospital of Wales, four patients were taken by road to Glangwilli Hospital, and one patient was taken by road to Morriston Hospital.”