Eight injured in police car collision

The marked police car, carrying two officers, was responding to an emergency and using its siren and lights when the crash happened at Rayleigh Wier, near Basildon, Essex Police said.

A woman in her 70s driving a Fiat and a BMW carrying a man, woman and three boys were 
involved in the incident on the A127 yesterday afternoon.

The Fiat driver had to be freed by the fire service after her vehicle left the road near the junction with Daws Heath Road and ended up on a verge, police said.

The occupants of the black BMW – including the three boys aged five, seven and 11 from Basildon – were not trapped.

All the people involved were taken to Southend General Hospital with serious injuries.

The collision is being investigated by the serious collision investigation unit (SCIU), and the force’s professional standards department has been made aware, police said.

The two injured officer, one in his 40s and the other in his 20s, are based at Boreham.

The crash forced the closure of the A127 near to where it had been shut because of flooding caused by torrential rain. Essex Fire and Rescue answered more than 300 calls for help as the result of floods overnight.