Two crashes on same road in Southend city centre take out lights and block road

Two cars crashed on the same stretch of road in Southend city centre early this morning, with both collisions taking out street lights and leaving debris strewn across the road.

The crashes happened within close proximity to one another on Queensway in Southend, behind the Sainsbury’s supermarket, shortly before dawn. It’s understood both collisions occurred at around 4:30am – although it’s not yet known whether they are linked.

In the first incident, a vehicle smashed into the traffic lights at the busy interchange outside Southend Victoria train station, causing significant damage and scattering debris across the road. The junction is a key part of Southend’s road network and is often busy.

Just a short distance further along Queensway, a second car collided with a street light, blocking one lane of the road. That section of road is just north of the first crash.

At 6am, police officers remained at the scene of both crashes, with vehicles still present and investigations underway. It’s not yet clear whether there have been any injuries or arrests.

UPDATE: Essex Police have said that the incidents do not appear to be linked. The first collision happened near the end of Baxter Avenue at 4:25am. Police officers attended and arrested a man on suspicion of drink driving.

The second crash was then reported to the police 20 minutes later, happening further along Queensway near to the back of the Odeon cinema. Police have confirmed this was a single vehicle collision and when they arrived, the driver had ran from the scene.

If you have any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to these incidents, please contact Essex Police and quote incident 199 of 5 April.