Crash claims teenage life
A ROAD ACCIDENT outside Keble College in the early hours of Saturday morning has claimed one life.
Rear seat passenger Emma Louise Johnson, 19, of Cowley died when the Toyota car she was travelling in left the road and careered into a tree on Parks Road. The car, which was carrying four people, was found on the new science area cycle track after having mounted the kerb. Police were called to the scene along with four ambulances and two fire engines.
John Fletcher, of Wadham College, witnessed the aftermath of the accident as he walked home from a party at around 2.30am.
He believed that there was one man and three ladies in the vehicle when he arrived, all four of whom were smartly dressed. Passers by comforted those injured especially the driver who was "seriously trapped under the steering wheel." According to Fletcher the emergency services required nearly an hour to free the motorist.
Police formally identified the victim on Monday and an inquest into her death was opened and adjourned that afternoon. Meanwhile a collection of floral tributes began to gather at the base of the tree on Parks Road. One of the bouquets had been placed by Police Officers. The tree, which bore the signs of a heavy impact, continued to receive respectful visits on Tuesday afternoon.
By day Parks Road teems with cyclists and cars but on Saturday morning it was quiet. The cause of the crash remained unclear as the Oxford Student went to press.
18th Nov 1999