Young driver killed as tree crushes car in London amid high winds

A man in his 20s died in north London after a falling tree crushed his car while he was driving.

Emergency crews worked to save the young man’s life, but paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

No one else was injured during the horror smash that happened in Mill Hill, close to Finchley Golf Club and Dollis Hill Viaduct.

In a statement, the Metropolitan police said they were called at about 12.40pm on Sunday to Dollis Road, at its junction with Abercorn Road, following reports that a tree had fallen on top of a moving car.

Officers attended alongside paramedics and firefighters. An air ambulance was also sent.

Despite the efforts of emergency services, the motorist could not be saved.

The road remained closed into Sunday evening.

Police said they were called to Dollis Road at its junction with Abercorn Road in Mill Hill

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A neighbour described the scene as “horrific”.

She told Metro: “The car was mangled in bits on the floor.

“I heard the air ambulance above my house about 12.30pm and landed in the fields by me.

“I believe he was on his own in the car. I spoke with his sister and gave her a hug.”

Chief inspector Guy Ellwood, from the Met’s north-west command unit, said: “This is a deeply tragic incident and our thoughts are with the loved ones of the young man who lost his life.

“We will now work with the local authority and coroner to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We were called at 12.29pm on Sunday, October 25, to reports of an incident near Abercorn Road.

“We sent resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, incident response officers and paramedics from our hazardous area response team. We also dispatched a trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance.

“Very sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a man was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Two fire engines were deployed from Finchley Fire Station.

Police said the driver’s next-of-kin had been informed.

London escaped the fierce 80mph winds that Scotland experienced on Sunday when it was battered by Storm Boelo, but blustery weather still played havoc across the weekend.

Highgate Woods in north London was closed by City of London, the authority responsible for the woodland, over concerns about high winds.

Two people were taken to hospital after being trapped under scaffold debris that fell from a building in Streatham High Road, south London, on Sunday.

Their injuries were understood not to be serious.

Firefighters told locals that a “big gust of wind” had forced the planks of wood, metal poles and waterproof sheeting down from the construction site.

The High Road was closed in both directions for a number of hours, with huge tailbacks reported, while emergency services worked to make the scene safe.

The severe climate followed on from Storm Austen, which struck the south-east on Friday.

Firefighters are at the scene of the fallen scaffold in Streatham High Road

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Beyond the runways, the conditions forced a last-minute cancellation of London's annual Diwali celebrations in Trafalgar Square.

Independent health and safety experts advised the Greater London Authority that heavy gales and persistent downpours on Saturday made it unsafe to build and set up the staging in the Square for Sunday's festival.

Met Office forecasters are monitoring another low pressure system moving in early next week.

It does not appear as potent as storms Austen and Boelo and there are no current plans to name it, but it will bring further wet and windy weather.

The country can expect a return to more dry and settled conditions after that, the Met Office said.