Bollard hit by lorry in fatal M27 crash to be replaced

Traffic was brought to a halt for two days following a crash on the motorway last year that resulted in the death of 36-year-old lorry driver, Michal Kaminski. Speeding drug driver, Ross Neiland, 38, came tearing down the motorway on February 21, 2024, near junction five at 93 miles per hour in a Volkswagen Polo despite heavy rain. The carriageway was closed for two days in the wake of the crash as work to make the area safe was undertaken.

In the year and three months since the crash, the concrete block that was hit by Mr Kaminski as he attempted to swerve out Neiland's way has remained a permanent reminder of the shocking crash. Neiland was handed a sentence of nine years and nine months and disqualified from driving for a period after release. National Highways has now explained its plans for the concrete block and added that it has remained dormant for so long as it originally planned to reuse the block for a new overhead gantry sign.

A National Highways spokesperson said: "The concrete foundation is still in place because we will be replacing the message sign structure. "Our initial plans were to reuse the concrete foundation, however upon further testing we found it has suffered damage and will need to be replaced. "We are planning the replacement with the aim of having the new foundation in place later this year."

As seen the footage released by Hampshire police, Neiland ploughed into a Nissan Juke on the motorway which caused it to slam into the lorry, driven by Mr Kaminski, forcing it through the crash barrier and into the concrete support for the overhead gantry.

The M27 is already undergoing a major scheme, with resurfacing currently taking place between junctions 5 and 7 including the area of the crash zone.

References

1. ^ Residents fume as bin collections missed across Southampton (www.dailyecho.co.uk)