Man Dies in Crash on A26

20 July 2010, 09:10 | Updated: 20 July 2010, 09:21

A man's died after the car he was driving overturned on the A26 and ended up on the forecourt of a service station.

It happened on the Tonbridge Road at Wateringbury at around 7.10pm on Monday (19th July 2010).

A red BMW car had been travelling from Maidstone towards Tonbridge when it left the carriageway, overturned and collided with a wall before eventually ending up on the forecourt of the Shell garage.

The man, who was in his 40's and from the Hadlow area, died at the scene while another man who was a passenger in the car was taken to hospital with what are described as minor injuries.

During the incident a gas pipe was fractured resulting in a gas leak.

As a precaution, surrounding roads were closed, a nearby hotel was evacuated and a cordon put around the service station.

The gas pipe was made safe at around 7.45pm and more repair work was carried out during the evening.

The A26 was closed while an investigation was carried out - it reopened at about 11.45pm.

Officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit would like to hear from anyone they have not already spoken to who witnessed the incident or who saw the red BMW in the area before it happened. 

Officers can be contacted via the witness appeal line on 01622 798538.