A trailer carrying bales of hay came free from a tractor, causing a dramatic crash involving a van and a motorbike.
The driver of a BT van had to be cut from his vehicle after the uncoupled trailer smashed into the bonnet. A motorcyclist also narrowly escaped injury, as he jumped free before his bike was crushed underneath the two vehicles.
The crash happened on the A495 near Welsh Frankton at 5.20pm yesterday.
Toby Beckett, 40, who was visiting the county from Cornwall, witnessed the accident. He said the tractor was travelling up the hill close to The Brow Golf Club, when the trailer came free and began slipping backwards into the oncoming traffic.
He said: “The trailer bounced free from the tractor, rolled back down the hill towards the now standing traffic and the vehicles tried to reverse out of the way but were not fast enough.
“The trailer first hit a BT van. The bed of the trailer went over the bonnet of the van, through the windscreen, smashing the steering wheel off and stopping millimetres away from the van driver’s face
“The two vehicles, now locked together, carried on backwards. The trapped BT engineer was pushing down on his foot brake. He had pulled his handbrake up as much as he could but was still going backwards, hitting the next vehicle in the line, a motorcycle.
“The young man on his motorcycle tried to move out the way. His motorcycle was crushed under the BT van as it was pushed back down the hill.
“He jumped to safety in the nick of time as his bike was pinned down by the van. The BT engineer, keeping his foot on the brake, was able to stop the three-vehicle wreck going any further down the hill.
“My partner quickly realised the potential for more damage and had run down the hill to turn any new traffic away.
“They were so lucky it wasn’t more serious, there could’ve been a couple of fatalities.
“The best thing was that everyone was okay.”
Fire crews cut one driver free, but the road was cleared by 6pm.
Courtesy of Shropshire Star newspaper.