UPDATED: DRIVER FLEES SCENE OF HIGH IMPACT HIT AND RUN SMASH IN RYDE

Police are currently searching for the driver of a Honda Civic following a hit and run crash in Ryde, which has seen a parked car destroyed and debris left strewn across the carriageway. Great Preston Road has been closed in both directions as a result of the smash, which happened just before 20:30. A silver Honda Civic – travelling towards St John’s Hill – has collided with a parked Audi A5 with considerable force, shunting the vehicle forward onto the pavement and into a fence. The front wheel of the uninsured, untaxed Civic has been ripped off in the collision and launched like a projectile through a fence and into a front garden. Officers from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary have deployed a dog unit in a bid to track down the driver of the Honda, who witnesses say fled the scene on foot in the direction of Rosemary Lane. Thankfully, no one has been injured but both vehicles are write-offs. UPDATE @ 21:45 – The search for the driver has proven fruitless, but investigations continue. Island Echo understands the driver to be a known local, who is disqualified from driving. Motorists have reported seeing the vehicle driving erratically on Ashey Road around 15 minutes before the crash, with further witnesses reporting seeing the vehicle cutting across the forecourt of Westridge Garage having just refuelled at Tesco Petrol Station – just seconds before the impact. Recovery of the vehicles has been arranged.