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CrashStats

Serious M25 crash in Epping Forest on 4 September 1997 at 21:00 involving a Leyland DAF FT 85 lorry

Four vehicles, including a car and a Leyland DAF FT 85 lorry, were involved in a crash on the M25 in Epping Forest at 21:00 on Thursday 4 September 1997. The 35-year-old male driver of the Volvo lorry was seriously injured and the 63-year-old male driver of the Leyland DAF FT 85 lorry and the 33-year-old male driver of the lorry were slightly injured.

It happened after dark under street lighting in fine weather on a dry dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Serious
Date
4 Sep 1997
Thursday, 21:00
Vehicles
4
Leyland DAF FT 85 and 3 others
Casualties
3
1 seriously injured, 2 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.68094, longitude 0.00377, in the EN9 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in Epping Forest

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
199701JB00713
Council area
Epping Forest
Police force
Metropolitan Police
Highway authority
Essex

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
25
Road type
Dual carriageway
Speed limit
70 mph
Urban or rural
Rural
Trunk road
Trunk road (National Highways)

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, street lights lit
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 9 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 24 November 2025.

Vehicles involved (4)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Changing lane to right
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West

  • Vehicle 2: Leyland DAF FT 85

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Towing and articulation
    Articulated vehicle
    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    63 years

  • Vehicle 3: Volvo

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Towing and articulation
    Articulated vehicle
    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    35 years

  • Vehicle 4: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Towing and articulation
    Articulated vehicle
    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    33 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 63, goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes), in vehicle 2 (Leyland DAF FT 85)

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 35, goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes), in vehicle 3 (Volvo)

  • Casualty 3: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 33, goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes), in vehicle 4 (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 199701JB00713 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Epping Forest road accident statistics for 1997.