Plymouth taxi driver ‘ran off A38’ issues plea after horror crash

A city taxi driver has called upon Plymouth's motorists to help her track down a driver whose "lack of attention" is said to have led to a crash, which she says could have killed her and her passengers. Julie Pollard, from Stoke[1], Plymouth said she was taking three passengers - an 85-year-old, an 80-year-old and a 55-year-old - to Liskeard to attend a theatre show on the morning of August 31. At around 11.30am, as she approached the Marsh Mills section of the A38[2], having just driven under the Saltram bridge, she became aware of a small silver car on her left, on the road which leads down the off-slip towards the roundabout.

However, without warning or indictors, Julie says the small silver car pulled right into her lane, leaving her to take action to move out of the way to avoid a collision. However, she said at that moment she hit a slippery patch and the rear of the heavy black cab slid, leaving her to wrestle with the wheel to try and regain control.

The 38-year-old told PlymouthLive: "I was doing 60mph in the middle lane, which is the correct lane to use at that point to go over the Marsh Mills stretch.

Suddenly my passengers shouted out 'he's coming over!' and I saw this small silver car and this old person driving it just sliding towards my cab with no signals at all. "I had nowhere to go and I started to gently brake, thinking I'd slow down and he'd miss me because he wasn't looking at all and should not have been changing lanes at that point.

"Unfortunately, the rear of the cab slipped and I went across the lane, hit the crash barrier and then went across all three lanes to hit the central barrier. How I missed everyone else on the road I'll never know.

There was so much screaming and noise from my poor passengers as the silver car came towards us and my fear was the taxi would roll - black cabs are notoriously top heavy." As a result of the incident the 80-year-old suffered a broken pelvis, a broken clavicle and was hospitalised, while the 85-year-old suffered five broken ribs and was hospitalised. The 55-year-old suffered broken ribs and bruising to their neck and arm strain.

Julie herself suffered the same injuries. She told PlymouthLive she had dashcam footage but police have told her it did not pick up the registration number of the silver car. In addition, she was offered footage from another witness who caught the entire incident on their dashcam, which clearly showed the silver car pull towards the black cab without indication and seemingly unaware of its presence - and then driving on after the incident.

Unfortunately, Julie said the police's inquiries have come to naught and claimed they told her they were unable to trawl through footage of every camera along the A38 from Marsh Mills to the Tamar bridge. However, Julie also noted how police had failed to make any public appeals of their own or make use of local media in an attempt to trace the driver of the silver car. She told PlymouthLive: "At the accident scene the police had 15 minutes to clear the road.

They bundled the three injured passengers into the police Range Rover and took them to Derriford.

"They made me pay GBP192 on the A38 to the recovery truck there and then - they wouldn't let me wait for my recovery with the AA and insurance as said it would take too long. I was then not even asked my name until everyone was disappearing and I asked! In the end I was left to get a bus from the A38 to Derriford Hospital[5] to meet the police and the injured passengers.

I actually went with the vehicle recovery driver so I could get a bus from a safer place. "I just want this person found because they are still out there driving like this. He needs to be found before he causes another crash - perhaps even a fatal one next time."

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police[6] said: "Police were called at 11.30am on Thursday 31 August to the A38 at Deep Lane following a car in collision with the central reservation. It was further reported that a silver or grey car had pulled across the path of the car without indicating. "Two people were taken to hospital following the incident.

Officers have reviewed dashcam and CCTV footage but have not been able to identify the silver/grey vehicle, which was driving in the westbound direction.

At this time all enquiries have been exhausted but should further information be reported, it will be investigated."

If have any information about this incident or can assist with identifying the small silver vehicle - which Julie believes was a "box type Ford Fiesta" or the driver, then please contact police on 101 quoting log number 365 of 31/8/2023.

References

1. ^ Stoke (www.plymouthherald.co.uk)
2. ^ A38 (www.plymouthherald.co.uk)
3. ^ End in sight for Plymouth's Prime Cafe Bar as bosses told to clear out premises (www.plymouthherald.co.uk)
4. ^ Covid loan probe after Plymouth flooring firm goes bust (www.plymouthherald.co.uk)
5. ^ Derriford Hospital (www.plymouthherald.co.uk)
6. ^ Devon and Cornwall Police (www.plymouthherald.co.uk)