Police in Kingston, Surrey have confirmed that a lorry driver whose heavy goods vehicle crashed into a pedestrian barrier at Malden Rushett junction on Saturday evening (17/10/09) had not been drinking.

The driver was taken to Kingston hospital after the accident, which happened at around 7pm. The Polish driver is believed to be in his 50s or 60s and was travelling towards Chessington.

Local newspaper the Kingston Guardian reports that police initially thought he might have been drinking, but then noticed a medical bracelet round one of his wrists. The man passed a breathalyser test.

He had tried to extricate his vehicle from the fence it had become embedded in – stepping out of the lorry to inspect it as cars piled up at the traffic lights. Drivers got out of their cars to try and assist the man, who was reportedly ‘unsteady on his feet’ and did not speak English.

No one else was hurt in the accident.

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