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A3 crash: Wrong-way driver 'rammed' by Surrey Police | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Officers faced with a car travelling the wrong way on the A3 decided to "ram it" when they saw it was not going to stop, Surrey Police have said. | |
Insp Richard Mallett said the officers were in an unmarked car travelling to the scene at Ripley at about 03:40 GMT when they saw the VW Polo approaching them southbound at speed. | |
He said they decided to make tactical contact and the cars crashed "head on". | |
The Polo driver was taken to hospital but was not thought to be badly hurt. | |
Two officers who were in the police car were also taken to hospital for assessment. | |
The VW Polo was being driven by a woman in her 20s, Insp Mallett said. | |
Second crash 'coincidence' | |
He said: "We had a report of a vehicle travelling the wrong way up the A3 from Burpham and one of our cars was responding to that." | |
He added: "They were faced by the vehicle coming the wrong way at speed towards them, and they realised the vehicle was not going to stop, so they made the decision to effectively make tactical contact, or ram it," he said. | |
Insp Mallett said police were waiting to speak to the Polo driver. | |
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has been informed of the crash, as is routine, he said. | |
The crash was one of two that closed the A3 in both directions overnight. | |
A Vauxhall Zafira hit a fence on the northbound carriageway at Thursley at about 03:25 and rolled over several times. | |
Insp Mallett, who said he believed the driver involved had suffered life-changing injuries, said it seemed to be a coincidence that both crashes happened on the A3 within a short space of time. | |
He urged anyone who saw either crash to contact the force. |