Multiple police units are searching an area of Ventnor after a driver reportedly fled the scene of a crash this evening (Friday).
Officers were initially called to the scene Ocean View Road at around 21:25 when the driver of a saloon-type vehicle fled after colliding with roadside railings, leaving the car in the middle of the road and blocking traffic.
Several units quickly responded to the scene, with the Police dog unit also called in to assist officers with their search in the areas of Zig Zag Road and Ventnor Industrial Estate (Old Station Road).
Other teams have since extended the search area to that of Upper Ventnor with a heavy presence within the town in a bid to locate the missing driver.
The vehicle, which was travelling in a westbound direction, remains in the carriageway as the search continues.
Ocean View Road has been temporally blocked for motorists, including the local bus service.
WATCH the moment a suspected drink driver careers into roadside railings in Ventnor:
UPDATE SATURDAY @ 00:48 – Island Echo has been told that officers have located a man following a search of the area. It’s understood that a passerby who witnessed the incident informed officers that they had heard rummaging in a bush near to where the car was abandoned after colliding with roadside railings.
A Police dog unit subsequently searched the area and located a man – believed to be the driver of the crashed vehicle – and retrieved him from the hedge.
Eyewitnesses report that the man was then breathalysed and promptly arrested on suspicion of drink driving.
The vehicle has now been recovered from the scene.
Island Echo has approached Hampshire Constabulary for a statement.
UPDATE SATURDAY – A 33-year-old man from the Isle of Wight has been arrested on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle with alcohol level above the limit, according to Police.
He is currently in police custody.
Good old ventnor again! Scum bags
does it say he was from Ventnor? no..
Ventnor has become a ******* again.
Probably got distracted looking at all the rubbish on the pavement
Retrieved from the bushes by the police dog. I like that. Lol.
Me too!
Looks like we are fast becoming the new prime area for morons, junkies, dealers and p**s head drivers! It used to be so quiet here, oh well, there go the property prices!
If he had got away would have ran home then told lies saying car was nicked. Then would have got away with it. Glad to see the dogs found him. I expect that he’ll be driving again in a few months even though on a ban. People who drink and drive only think of one person.
What the hell is going on in Ventnor lately ??
It says, “A man from the Isle of Wight ” not necessarily from Ventnor. Any drink driver no matter where they’re from is a menace and should have the book thrown at them. Pay the full cost of repairs to the road furniture etc so we law abiding, tax payers shouldn’t have to.
Turns out he was from Arreton.. not Ventnor!