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CrashStats

M4 crash in West Berkshire on 21 April 1979 at 02:55 involving a van

A van crashed on the M4 in West Berkshire at 02:55 on Saturday 21 April 1979. All four casualties were slightly injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in fine weather on a dry dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Slight
Date
21 Apr 1979
Saturday, 02:55
Vehicles
1
Van
Casualties
4
4 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.45265, longitude -1.38228, in the RG20 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in West Berkshire

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  • 1 crash
  • Slight

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197943F044049
Council area
West Berkshire
Police force
Thames Valley

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
4
Road type
Dual carriageway
Speed limit
70 mph

Junction information

Junction type
Not at junction or within 20 metres

Pedestrian crossing information

Crossing facilities
No physical crossing facility within 50 m

Environmental conditions

Light conditions
Dark, no street lighting
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 19 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 24 October 2025.

Vehicles involved (1)

  • Vehicle 1: Van

    Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Nearside or offside crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    31 years

Casualties (4)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 31, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 23, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 39, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 14, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

Data source

This record comes from the Department for Transport’s road safety data (STATS19), in which police forces in Great Britain record every road crash reported to them where someone was injured. It is reference 197943F044049 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the West Berkshire road accident statistics for 1979.