Crash chaos as car ploughs into traffic and taxi driver robbed

17 February 2024 , 16:32

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Crash chaos as car ploughs into traffic and taxi driver robbed

Stunning footage captures the moment a stolen car races through a roundabout and causes a huge smash. It happened on Friday night and left a trail of destruction at the scene.

But the mayhem didn't end there. The person inside the stolen car got out of the wreckage and fled. A nearby taxi was also taken 'violently', police said. A taxi driver was robbed of his vehicle at knifepoint and a suspect made a getaway.

Footage appears to show the stolen car racing at speed through a set of traffic lights on red. Further clips show cars left badly damaged with air bags deployed. The major road, in Salford, Greater Manchester, was left strewn with debris.

Three other vehicles were damaged. The injuries suffered by those involved were not life-threatening, reports the MEN.

Greater Manchester Police's specialist operations branch was drafted in to scour the area after the taxi was driven away. The car was eventually tracked down and stopped in the West Midlands, on the M42, after being spotted on the M6, at around 11pm.

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The force confirmed the taxi was tracked down later that night and a man arrested. A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of robbery; and wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. He is in the process of being brought to Greater Manchester for questioning, the force said on Saturday morning.

Chief Inspector Simon Ashcroft of GMP's Salford district said: "This is understandably a terrifying ordeal for those involved last night, but after a swift response by our dedicated local officers and the support of the wider force, we were not only able to manage the scene effectively, we also detained the suspect with assistance from colleagues in another force before any further harm could be caused.

"I hope this result shows that we will use all the resources available to us to detect and detain offenders quickly who are intent on causing unnecessary harm to innocent members of the public.

"As we continue to investigate to bring justice, if anyone has any further information in relation to this incident, or footage including dashcam, doorbell or CCTV."

Paul Greaves