Spectator seriously injured at Peterborough car cruising event - as councillor warns crash 'could have been fatal'

A councillor has warned someone could be killed at car cruising events in Peterborough after a spectator was seriously injured in a crash on Saturday night.

Emergency services were called to the DPD depot off Waterworth Road at Alwalton Hill at about 10pm on September 2, to reports of a meeting involving around 50 cars.

Man treated for head and leg injuries

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “Within minutes, we received a further call, this time from the ambulance service, reporting a pedestrian had been injured in a collision with a car at the meet.

“Officers from our response policing and roads policing units attended, along with the ambulance service.

“A man in his 20s was taken to hospital after losing consciousness and was treated for injuries to his leg and head.”

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Now cllr Julie Stevenson, who has campaigned for action to be taken against unauthorised car cruise events in the city, has warned the consequences of such crashes could be much worse in the future.

‘Unauthorised car meets are not safe’

She said: “The fact remains that unauthorised car meets are not safe. Spectators have no protection at all should a driver lose control.

"The people who attend to watch the cars clearly enjoy the excitement of it. But when something goes wrong it could take emergency services a long time to reach them and other emergencies won't be attended to.

"The people who organise these events need to start taking responsibility for what happens when there is an accident. If this was on a racetrack, there would be help nearby, better protection for drivers and bystanders and measures in place to ensure the danger or being hit by an out-of-control car is kept to a minimum.

"I hope the person who has been injured fully recovers. I also hope those involved in organising the meet will consider their role in it. This could easily have been fatal.”

Car involved in crash found

Cambridgeshire Police said the car involved in the incident – a Mazda MX5 – had been located. The spokesperson said: “Our officers located the vehicle that was involved – a Mazda MX5 – however the driver had made off from the scene but was found later in the evening. An investigation into dangerous driving is ongoing and the car is being examined by our Vehicle Examination Unit to check for any other offences.

“While we were at the scene, a separate car was identified as being used in an anti-social manner by “drifting” and its driver already had a section 59 notice against his name for similar behaviour following a car meet in John Wesley Road, Werrington, in July this year. The notice means should he be found using a vehicle anti-socially again, the vehicle can be seized – which is exactly what happened.

“The driver was handed another section 59 notice, to run for a further 12 months, as well having been reported for the offence of careless driving – for a second time, meaning he may lose his licence when dealt with at court.”

In February last year, a woman was seriously hurt in a collision at an unauthorised meeting in Stapledon Road.

Following the incident, speedbumps were installed in the area, to prevent meetings from happening again.

Action has now also been promised at the Tresham Road estate, which has turned into a hotspot for car cruising in the city.

‘Number of intended prosecutions are in progress’

Officers have now pledged to do all they can to prevent further incidents.

PC James Goose, from the Roads Policing Unit, said: “A number of other notices of intended prosecutions (NIPs) are in progress for recent car meets. We will look to take robust action against anyone else found committing offences, as further evidence becomes available.

“We understand the effect car meets have on our local communities, with the associated noise and anti-social behaviour, not to mention the dangerousness of them on occasions.

“Anyone found to be using their vehicle in a dangerous or anti-social manner will have action taken against them.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police on 101, or use their webchat service quoting incident 500 of 2 September.