A 23-year-old woman from Totton was reportedly struck by a pallet of bricks which came off a lorry in Lyndhurst today (Monday), police have said.
The A35 High Street is currently shut east of the junction with Gosport Lane as officers investigate, and Hampshire County Council has confirmed it’s likely to stay closed into the evening.
A statement by Hampshire Constabulary at about 2pm said: “We are currently dealing with an incident on the A35 Southampton Road through Lyndhurst.
“The circumstances reported to police are that pallets of bricks have become dislodged from a lorry and struck a pedestrian, who has suffered serious injuries.
“She has been taken to Southampton General Hospital for treatment.
“Enquiries into the exact circumstances remain ongoing.”
The statement added: “Road closures are currently in place at this time.
“Access to Ashurst via Lyndhurst is disrupted by the closures, however, motorists travelling from the direction of Ashurst are able to turn left on to the B3056, heading in the direction of Beaulieu.”
A village business owner, who asked not to be named, described the scene as “chaotic” with police and specialist officers, ambulances and an air ambulance in attendance.
He told the A&T: “The High Street is still closed to traffic coming in both directions and a police crash investigation team in current working in the road.
“I didn’t see what happened myself but a neighbour told me the lorry was carrying a load of concrete blocks and it had lost part of its load onto the pavement.
“I understand that a lady pedestrian who was staying in a nearby hotel was hit as she was walking along the pavement.
“I have been told she was taken to hospital in a normal ambulance rather than the air ambulance but I don’t know any more than that.”
He went on: “I can see up the street that there are still around 10-15 concrete blocks that are about a 1ft by 1ft diameter on the road and pavement.
“Obviously, we are all really hoping for the best for the lady involved – I understand that traffic is currently being diverted via Beaulieu but I don’t know how long the road will remain shut.”
Another business owner added: “There has been helicopter and a lot of police activity. Only a couple of months ago a cyclist was badly hurt in an accident outside.
“The High Street is very narrow and it should be a 20mph limit but cars go at 30mph or even 40mph.
“When vehicles get to this section of the High Street they seem to speed up and this accident shows just how dangerous it can be.
“We hope very much that the lady involved will be alright.”
