Executive Summary
- Driver reports swerving into a ditch to avoid a lorry on the A10 near Littleport.
- Witness claims the lorry swerved to miss a large pothole “the length of two cars.”
- A fatal collision occurred on the same stretch of road later that same day.
- Cambridgeshire County Council is assisting police with the investigation.
A motorist traveling on the A10 in Cambridgeshire reported a near-miss head-on collision, alleging that a heavy goods vehicle swerved into her lane to avoid a significant road defect hours before a fatal crash occurred on the same stretch of highway. The driver, identified as a 31-year-old woman named Katie, described taking evasive action to avoid a skip lorry while driving with her eight-week-old infant near Littleport.
According to testimony provided to local media, the incident occurred at approximately 11:55 GMT on February 12. Katie stated that a skip truck traveling in the opposite direction suddenly veered into her lane. She reported that the lorry appeared to be reacting to a large pothole, which she described as “the length of two cars,” forcing her to brake and steer her vehicle onto a grass verge and into a ditch to prevent a direct collision. The driver of the lorry reportedly did not stop following the incident.
Cambridgeshire Police confirmed receiving a report regarding the pothole at 12:30 GMT that same day. A police spokesperson noted that the reporting party was advised to contact the local authority, as road maintenance falls under council jurisdiction. Authorities also confirmed that a separate fatal collision took place on the same section of the A10 later that day, prompting an ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding that tragedy.
In a statement addressing the road conditions, a Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson acknowledged the incident near Blue Boar Drove. The council stated that regular inspections are conducted and that sections of the road had been recently resurfaced. The spokesperson added that while they are assisting police with the investigation into the fatal crash, it would be inappropriate to provide further comment on specific liabilities while the inquiry is active.
Infrastructure Safety & Investigation
This incident highlights critical concerns regarding roadway infrastructure maintenance and its potential correlation to traffic safety. The temporal proximity of the reported near-miss involving a significant road defect and a subsequent fatal collision on the same route necessitates a rigorous forensic examination of the road surface by investigators. While the specific causes of the fatal crash remain under police review, the presence of documented hazards like the reported pothole will likely serve as a key variable in determining whether environmental factors contributed to the accident dynamics.
