Wardrobe door hits car driving on the A35 near Dorchester
Pete Deans – whose previous car was written off in a crash in October – was travelling with his partner and two children on the A35 east of Dorchester when the door came off a trailer being towed by a vehicle which passed them. Mr Deans said he nearly careered into the verge – while the 4×4 vehicle towing the trailer didn’t stop, although the driver may not have known the door had come off until later. Due to the damage – which Mr Deans thinks will cost ‘hundreds of pounds to fix’ – the family had to abandon their journey to Tower Park in Poole where they had planned to go bowling and returned home to Weymouth.
It happened on the A35 eastbound near the Gingerbread Cafe just before the start of the Puddletown Bypass on Saturday afternoon. The wardrobe door (Image: Pete Deans) Mr Deans’ previous car was among those written off in a crash in the early hours of October 14 last year when a car collided with a number of parked vehicles in Southill.[1]
He had bought a BMW 1 Series to replace the old vehicle and had only had it for 10 days before this latest incident. Mr Deans said: “We have had no luck with cars at all. “On the approach to the Puddletown bypass by the little roadside cafe, an oncoming vehicle with a small trailer containing a dismantled wardrobe drove past.
The car was hit on the A35 close to this spot Picture: Google Maps “One of the big doors flew out of the trailer causing damage to our vehicle, scaring the pants off us. “We almost went into the the verge with it.
It was pretty horrific really. “We were left by the side of the road with a damaged car. The light is all smashed, the bumper is damaged, and the undertray is hanging off.”
Mr Deans added: “We had to go straight back home. This is going to cost hundreds to fix, it is just expense after expense. “Imagine if it had been a motorcyclist that the door hit.
“Luckily no one was hurt, however, we do need to find the person due to the damage caused to our vehicle. “If anyone happened to see this or has any dashcam footage please contact the police.” A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: “We received a report that, at around 2.15pm on Saturday, January 13, an item from an insecure load being towed by a 4×4 vehicle came off a trailer and collided with another vehicle, causing damage, on the eastbound carriageway of the A35 near to the Stinsford Roundabout near Dorchester.
“It was reported that the vehicle towing the load failed to stop at the scene.
There were no reports of any injuries.
Enquiries into the incident are ongoing,”