Jeep Driver Smashes His Way Along Chiswick Street

Man arrested after 'carnage' in Grove Park damages seven cars

Seven cars were severely damaged, some suspected write offs in Grove Park Road in the early hours of Thursday (July 5th) as a man in a jeep drove in an erratic fashion along the road smashing into cars. One resident even threw rubbish bins at the vehicle in a bid to stop him.

Residents were woken by the sound of crunching metal and screeching tyres to see a man driving a 4 x 4 Jeep hit a car on the North side of Grove Park Road before careening over the street and ramming another car across the pavement and into a gate post. The worst of the damage was done between house numbers 42 and 22 .

According to one witness, at this point the steering of the Jeep was so badly damaged that it could no longer drive in a straight line. A witness said the driver repeatedly rammed cars up the street in an attempt to flee the scene. The Jeep’s front wheels were splayed apart and one totally locked up so that it continually swerved to its right. After each smash he reversed and tried again.

People in their nightclothes rushed into the street to witness the carnage, one hurling some rubbish bins at the Jeep in attempt to get the driver to stop. One quick witted resident jumped into his Mercedes driving down the pavement seconds before the Jeep screeched into the space he left behind.

The Jeep finally came to a halt outside No 22 as the police arrived. The driver got out of the car and walked back the way he had come before being apprehended by the police. After arresting and questioning the man the police took him away leaving residents and the damaged car owners in a state of shock and bewilderment.

One eye-witness said it appeared the driver was high on drugs and alcohol.

Police traced the car to an owner in Oxford but it appeared that the driver was not the owner of the Jeep, was uninsured and could not produce a driving licence. "Under the circumstances it is a miracle no one was hurt," said one local man.

This incident comes after a number of cars have been damaged both sides of the road since commuters and others have started parking on the North side of Grove Park Road , displaced by the Zone 2 CPZ.

Jonathan Knight, Chair of the Grove Park Group, has been calling for a yellow line on that side of the road as it is effectively being reduced to a single track road which is unacceptable for such a busy thoroughfare.

Frequently large commercial vehicles and coaches have held up traffic whilst negotiating the narrow gap. Two weeks ago a resident’s Mercedes car was damaged by another avoiding a fire engine.

He said, "The single track was undoubtedly a factor in last night’s events leaving little room for the high speed and erratic driving of the occupant of the Jeep."

July 7, 2018