Police have confirmed that a response car which smashed through railings on Ryde Pier, leaving 2 officers trapped in a precarious position above the sea, was ‘responding to an incident’ at the time of the collision.
The dramatic crash occurred at 10:08 this morning (Tuesday), when a marked Volvo Police vehicle – HV73 MXM – was involved in a collision with a taxi on the historic pier, as first reported by Island Echo.
The police car sustained significant front-end damage and came to rest hanging over the edge of the pier, having smashed through the iron railings. Debris was sent flying through the air.
The 2 officers inside were initially unable to leave the vehicle due to concerns over its stability, prompting a response from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service. Firefighters from Ryde and Shanklin worked to secure the vehicle before the officers were able to escape through a rear door.
The male officers were uninjured.
Island Echo has been able to confirm that the Police car responded up the pier on blue lights, before returning back towards dry land just 5 minutes later. This time the vehicle did not appear to have blue lights activated. That said, a car travelling in front of the Police car pulled over to allow them past, just seconds before the smash.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary says that the police car was responding to an incident when the collision occurred, but has not elaborated on this.
A spokesperson for the force has said:
“The collision involved two vehicles, one of which was a police car which had been responding to an incident.
“No one has been injured.”
More than 4 hours after the smash, the vehicles are still being recovered from the pier, with specialist recovery crews from Bartletts involved in the operation.
Ryde Pier remains closed to all vehicles and pedestrians, with Wightlink’s FastCat service suspended.
