Shopper injured in fire engine collision
Street was closed off for several hours following incident
Friday, 2nd June 2023 — By Charlotte Chambers
Scene of the collision in Upper Street
A FIRE engine on its way to an emergency callout struck a man in his 40s carrying bags of shopping in Upper Street on Monday morning, causing the busy road to be closed for several hours.
The collision happened outside the Fox on the Green pub by Islington Green at around 7.30am, with the road reopening at around 11am.
Eyewitnesses described seeing the injured man sitting at a nearby bus stop with police officers with a bandage wrapped around his head as they waited for an ambulance.
Onlooker Anthony Duggan, 24, who was working in Euphorium bakery in Upper Street, said: “I saw out the window that a fire truck had stopped in the middle of the crossing, so nothing else could go past it. And I noticed that there was some shopping in front of it on the street. I looked around the side and I saw the man getting his head bandaged.”
He added that while he at first thought the fire engine was present to keep the road closed, it became apparent it had been involved in the collision, after other witnesses reported seeing splashed milk across the front of it.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “A fire engine was involved in a collision with a pedestrian on Upper Street in Islington on Monday. A man was taken to hospital. The fire engine was travelling on its way to an emergency call.”
A police spokesperson appealed for witnesses. Anyone with information can contact the police on 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD1563/29May.
