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CrashStats

Fatal M20 crash in Maidstone on 14 December 2008 at 02:42 involving a Ford Escort

A Ford Escort and a car were involved in a crash on the M20 in Maidstone at 02:42 on Sunday 14 December 2008. A 46-year-old female passenger in the Ford Escort was killed, the 50-year-old male driver of the Ford Escort was seriously injured and the 37-year-old male driver of the car 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 Dec 2008
Sunday, 02:42
Vehicles
2
Ford Escort and car
Casualties
3
1 killed, 1 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.23977, longitude 0.67085, in the ME17 postcode district. It is one of the crashes that make up the Harrietsham, Lenham & North Downs, Maidstone, ME17 1AB area accident hotspot.

Map of where the crash happened in Maidstone

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
2008460166064
Council area
Maidstone
Police force
Kent
Police attended the scene
Yes
Highway authority
Kent

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
20
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, no street lighting
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry
Carriageway hazards
Involvement with previous collision

Enhanced collision data

How severity was recorded
Judged by the reporting police officer

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 3 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 17 December 2025.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Ford Escort

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    Position at junction
    Not at or within 20 metres of junction
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside onto central reservation and rebounded
    Hit object off carriageway
    Central crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Nearside
    Left-hand drive
    No
    Journey purpose
    Other or not known
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    50 years
    Engine capacity
    1,796 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    11 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    Position at junction
    Not at or within 20 metres of junction
    Hit object in carriageway
    Previous accident
    First point of impact
    Front
    Left-hand drive
    No
    Journey purpose
    Other or not known
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    37 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 50, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Ford Escort)

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 37, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Fatal

    Female, aged 46, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Ford Escort)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

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 2008460166064 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Maidstone road accident statistics for 2008.