Woman, 87, dies after car crashes into fallen tree during Storm Henk
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An elderly woman driver has died after hitting a fallen tree[1] which had been reported fallen to police[2] around 90 minutes earlier as Storm Henk battered the country. The 87-year-old, who has not been named[3], was in a red Smart Forfour when she collided with it near Crays Pond, Oxfordshire[4] at around 5.25pm on Tuesday.
Thames Valley Police[5] has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC[6]) as the fallen tree was one of a number of similar reports[7] received approximately an hour and a half before the collision. It comes after Storm Henk brought 100mph winds, heavy rain and travel chaos to large parts of the UK earlier this week. Londoners were warned not to leave their homes unless necessary on Tuesday night as winds from the first named storm of 2024 wreaked havoc in the capital and south of England.
A solitary tree stands above flood water in Worcester after the River Severn burst its banks during Storm Henk
(Getty Images) Commuters were left stranded as Thameslink and South Western Railway issued “do not travel” warnings. Dover warned of ferry cancellations and Heathrow grounded flights after a plane was filmed swaying in the strong winds while landing.
Meanwhile, a woman was struck by a falling tree in Station Approach, Orpington, and was treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, while footage showed collapsed scaffolding strewn across a road in Greenwich. While the worst of the storm was over by 8pm, when the amber weather warning covering a large part of the south of England expired, torrential rain has left roads submerged in water and a holiday home was forced to evacuate following flash floods. Families left their caravans in Billing Aquadrome, Northamptonshire, after the Environment Agency issued a flood warning for the region.
Many people were seen driving and walking away from the caravans carrying their belongings. In Hampshire, one of the army’s Apache helicopters was blown over in strong winds, as a Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed to The Independent that a recovery truck had been dispatched to the scene.
Billing Aquadrome in Northamptonshire was flooded just after families fled the region after a warning was issued (REUTERS)
A yellow weather warning for rain across south England has been issued until 3am on Friday, with much of the area already affected by groundwater caused by Storm Henk.
References
- ^ hitting a fallen tree (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ police (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ who has not been named (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ Oxfordshire (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ Thames Valley Police (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ IOPC (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ fallen tree was one of a number of similar reports (www.independent.co.uk)