A cordon has been erected and a driver rushed to St Mary’s Hospital following a collision at the Floating Bridge terminal in East Cowes this afternoon (Sunday).
Police and paramedics rushed to Bridge Road at around 12:30 following reports that a single vehicle had collided with a building.
At the scene, a white Citroen has smashed into the solid structure, piercing the brick and metal work in the process. The impact of the smash has seen the airbags deployed.
The driver of the vehicle was quickly extricated from the vehicle and taken to St Mary’s Hospital.
Eyewitnesses in the area reported hearing an ‘almighty bang’ before seeing a large emergency service response convene on the area.
The Cowes Floating Bridge is currently suspended, with Bridge Road currently blocked at the Ferry Road and Castle Street junctions. It is unclear as to when the road will reopen.
Investigations into just how the incident occurred are underway.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary has been approached for comment.
UPDATE @ 15:30 – Police have confirmed that a single person – a man in his 80s, who was driving the Citroen – has been taken to St Mary’s Hospital.
UPDATE @ 16:30 – The road has since reopened but the floating bridge remains suspended. Contractors have arrived to make safe the kiosk in order to allow service to resume as soon as possible.
Why did the Ferry need to be cancelled? Plenty of room for vehicles on and off 🙁
Why do you think?
It’s the same as any other collision – the scene has to be protected so that a thorough investigation can happen without anything or anyone disturbing what might be valuable evidence
I am surprised the Ferry was running.
They prefer it to be out service rather than in
He was probably in shock the ferry was actually running at the time.
Poor old man. I hope he recovers.