AN investigation is still ongoing into an incident where a woman was cut from a car after a 28 tonne bin lorry owned by Derry’s council crashed into the back of her vehicle, it has emerged.
The incident happened on Friday, January 12, which resulted in the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) had to use hydraulic cutting equipment to free the woman following the collision.
The incident, which was caught on CCTV, saw the council refuse lorry plough into the back of Renault Captur which was being driven by Jacqueline Crumlish, pictured above.
She had been waiting to turn right into a Spar store when the lorry careered into the back of the vehicle, pushing it forward, narrowly missing an oncoming vehicle.
Such was the impact of the crash that the car seat headrest broke off after Ms Crumlish’s head was snapped backwards.
Both the PSNI and the local council launched a probe in the wake of the incident.
An update on the investigation was given at a recent meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Audit, Assurance and Risk Committee, where the independent councillor Paul Gallagher raised concerns over the incident.
Cllr Gallagher asked when the committee would receive a report on any follow-up investigation into the crash, and asked if all of the council’s vehicle were ‘road-worthy’.
He also asked if councillors would be given details on any information on what caused the collision.
Responding, Denise McDonnell, Risk and Assurance Officer with the council, told the meeting that the investigation into the circumstances of the incident was ‘ongoing’, adding that a report on the matter would be brought before the next meeting of the committee.
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