Pic:Crash car
Staff reporter(wp/es):
Witnesses have told of their horror after a woman died and several other people were seriously injured in a 20-car pile-up.
A pregnant woman was among those to reveal how she narrowly missed the horror crash on the A40 in Oxfordshire on Wednesday morning.
It killed one woman and left another person fighting for life in hospital. A third person was also seriously injured in the collision.
Expectant mother Ami Gaston was among those near the wreckage after the 20-car pile-up near Witney.
The 31-year-old was on her way to her 20-week pregnancy scan with her partner when the couple had to swerve to avoid a car which had crashed into the central reservation.
“We were driving on the A40, we were in the right hand lane,” Ms Gaston told the Standard.
“I said, there’s something in the road and before we knew it the car was right in front of us. He had crashed into the middle barrier, had his car door open and his face was against an airbag.
“I’m guessing he skidded on ice, it was minus two this morning.
“He was horizontal across the right hand lane into the middle barrier.”
She said it was too dangerous to stop meaning she was forced to carry on driving as the pile-up happened behind her car. Ms Gaston then phoned for an ambulance.
“Thank god we didn’t witness the pile up,” she said. “We were on the way to the hospital for our 20 week scan so we just saw that car.”
Tom Russell was also driving along the road and witnessed the pile-up but said it was too foggy to make out exactly what happened.
“People we're driving too fast and not really aware of conditions,” he told the Standard.
“I'd seen people coming towards me on the other side of the dual carriageway flashing their lights.
“So I slowed right down and then saw hazards ahead so I pulled into left hand lane and stopped. People still drove past us and hit pile up ahead.
“The emergency services were there really quickly. But it was not a nice thing to be caught up in especially as after I'd stopped and you could hear people crashing behind.
“I was lucky as were others around me. Unfortunately some others were not so lucky and my thoughts are with them and their families.”
The heavy fog is expected to return on Thursday. It has caused delays to dozens of flights at London City Airport as well as poor visibility on the roads.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said they were called at 8.25am this morning following reports of a crash involving multiple cars.
He said: “Officers are at the scene along with the fire and rescue services. A number of people are believed to have been injured.
"Road closures are currently in place and drivers are advised to avoid the area."
Paramedics in three ambulances, three rapid response cars, and the air ambulance car raced to the scene. The weather was too foggy for the air ambulance to be scrambled.
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