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CrashStats

Fatal M2 crash in Swale on 14 May 1979 at 23:50 involving a lorry

A lorry and two cars were involved in a crash on the M2 in Swale at 23:50 on Monday 14 May 1979. A 53-year-old male pedestrian hit by the lorry was killed, a 28-year-old male pedestrian hit by the lorry was seriously injured and the 39-year-old male driver of the lorry was 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
Fatal
Date
14 May 1979
Monday, 23:50
Vehicles
3
Lorry and 2 others
Casualties
3
1 killed, 1 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.29901, longitude 0.73695, in the ME9 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in Swale

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
1979466203409
Council area
Swale
Police force
Kent

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
2
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, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 7 December 1983.

Vehicles involved (3)

  • Vehicle 1: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Towing and articulation
    Articulated vehicle
    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Skidding and overturning
    Jackknifed
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    39 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Parked
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Lane or location
    On lay-by or hard shoulder
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    28 years

  • Vehicle 3: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Parked
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Lane or location
    On lay-by or hard shoulder
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    53 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Pedestrian

    Fatal

    Male, aged 53, hit by vehicle 1 (Lorry)

    Pedestrian location
    On refuge, central island or central reservation
    Pedestrian movement
    In carriageway, stationary, not crossing (standing or playing), masked by parked or stationary vehicle

  • Casualty 2: Pedestrian

    Serious

    Male, aged 28, hit by vehicle 1 (Lorry)

    Pedestrian location
    On refuge, central island or central reservation
    Pedestrian movement
    In carriageway, stationary, not crossing (standing or playing), masked by parked or stationary vehicle

  • Casualty 3: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 39, goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes), in vehicle 1 (Lorry)

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 1979466203409 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Swale road accident statistics for 1979.