Video shows military truck smashing through police roadblock in Somerset rampage
Video footage has emerged of the heartstopping moment a military truck smashes its way through a police-car roadblock in Somerset[1]. In videos widely circulated on social media, an old-fashioned military truck can be seen driving down a residential street in Norton Fitwarren, heading towards a police roadblock.
A police officer can be heard ordering the truck to stop before it hits the police blockade, made up of a number of Avon and Somerset Police vehicles[2]. The driver either fails to hear the command or ignores the order to stop and ploughs into the three vehicles blocking access to Station Road, near the Royal Marines’ base in Taunton yesterday (September 10).
Initially, the truck appears to look for a gap to the right of the police vehicles and hits one car but then, finding no way through, the driver reverses. In the video shared to SomersetLive by Zak Hart, the truck can then be seen driving headlong into a police 4×4, smashing into it.
The impact forces the police vehicle sideways. Another video posted online[4] shows the action from the other side of the roadblock.
The truck appears to attempt to accelerate past the police 4×4 and hits a black Range Rover. It can be seen to be forced to the right-hand side of the road and onto the pavement, knocking down a lamppost. It then reverses and heads along the pavement.
In doing so, the truck slows down and carefully avoids a police van parked in the middle of the road as officers rush to their stricken vehicles. Three police vehicles were severely damaged in the incident, two cars and the 4×4 that bore the brunt of the impact.
The footage is linked to an incident in which a 41-year-old man was arrested on a bridge over the M5. Police said they were sent to an undisclosed address in Norton Fitzwarren following a report that a man was making threats and had caused damage to property.
A police statement reads: “A 41-year-old man has been arrested following a series of incidents in the Taunton area this afternoon (Sunday, September 10). Officers were deployed to an address in Norton Fitzwarren at around 4.40pm following a report a man was making threats to the occupant and had caused damage to the property.
“The man left the address in a large military truck when officers arrived before driving the vehicle into two police cars blocking the road, causing them extensive damage. Thankfully, no police officers or members of the public were hurt in the incident.
“The man subsequently drove to the A361 M5 overbridge where he exited the vehicle and climbed over the railings, leading the motorway to be closed in both directions. The man was arrested 25 minutes later and he currently remains in police custody.”
Earlier that evening, the National Police Air Service (NPAS) revealed that quick-thinking lorry drivers helped with an “excellent intervention” on the M5 near Taunton at around 5.20pm. The drivers parked their HGVs underneath an overbridge on the M5 to help safeguard a “person in crisis”.
In a post on X, the social media website formerly know as twitter, an NPAS spokesperson said: “We have deployed our Exeter aircraft to assist @ASPolice with a person in crisis on the #M5 at #Taunton. Excellent intervention by officers on scene means male is now safe. Fantastic to see #HGV drivers offering to help with their lorries to safeguard the person – thank you.”
References
- ^ smashes its way through a police-car roadblock in Somerset (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ made up of a number of Avon and Somerset Police vehicles (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ HGV drivers intervene to help in concern for welfare incident on M5 (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ Another video posted online (www.reddit.com)