Prince Philip car crash: Police probe Duke of Edinburgh's Land Rover crash

Nine-month-old baby boy escaped injury in Philip crash, police reveal as they open probe LATEST: Prince Philip heads to hospital for check-up

Police said today they are investigating the car crash which left the Duke of Edinburgh bleeding and two women in the other vehicle requiring hospital treatment.

A witness told how the 97-year-old was able to walk away from the crash and that the duke’s first thoughts were for the people in the second car, who also included a nine-month-old baby.

On clambering from his wrecked land Rover, Philip immediately asked, “is everyone else all right?” the witness said.

Norfolk police confirmed they were investigating the incident on the A149 near the Queen’s Sandringham estate and would be taking “any appropriate action”.

The driver of the second car, a Kia, was a 28-year-old woman who suffered cuts to her knee, while the passenger, a 45-year-old woman, sustained a broken wrist. Both women were treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn and were discharged last night. Police also confirmed a baby boy was in the Kia and was uninjured.

Recovering: Prince Philip, pictured at the wheel last year, was left shaken after crash involving a nine-month-old baby (Peter Jolly/REX/Shutterstock)
Rex Features

Prince Philip was not taken to hospital and was recovering today at Sandringham with the Queen. A doctor checked the duke as a precaution and found he had suffered no serious injuries.

A royal source said: “The duke will be monitored by a doctor over the next few days. He was clearly very shaken by the incident.

“He was not injured physically but shock and aftershock are serious considerations when dealing with a person of the duke’s age after a road traffic incident as serious as this one.”

Theresa May sent the duke a message following the crash. A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister has sent a private message wishing him well.”

A police spokesman said: “Both drivers were breath tested and provided negative readings. As is standard procedure with injury collisions, the incident will be investigated and any appropriate action taken.

Prince Philip was involved in a car crash last night near Sandringham
AP

Norfolk police added the investigation was being “treated as any other road traffic collision would be”.

Experts said that if Philip was at fault he could be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention.

According to Crown Prosecution Service guidance, the offence is committed when an individual’s driving falls below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver. The offence carries up to nine points and an unlimited fine based on net disposable income.

The duke, who is thought to have been on his own in the Land Rover Freelander, was overheard telling officers that he was “dazzled by the sun”.

The incident is likely to raise questions about whether the prince should still be driving at the age of 97 and why he was not accompanied in the car by a royal protection officer.

The aftermath of the crash
PA

He retired from public duties in summer 2017 and last April had a hip replacement, but remains active and was photographed in the summer driving a horse-drawn carriage, although he has given up competing.

AA president Edmund King said: “The decision to hang up your keys is a tough one but should be based on personal advice from your GP and family, rather than on some arbitrary age.”

Shocking photographs of the wreckage show the duke’s Land Rover lying on its side with a smashed windscreen and heavy dents in the side of the reinforced vehicle.

Barrister Roy Warne, 75, told how he was driving home with his wife when he saw prince’s black car roll over onto the other side of the road after a “huge collision” with a car.

Mr Warne told BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme: “I went to the other car and there was a baby in the back. We got the baby out and went to the black car to help and realised it was the Duke of Edinburgh.

“He was trapped in the car. I asked him to move his left leg and that freed his right leg and he could get out.”

Mr Warne said he did not remember what the duke had said to him but that it was “nothing rude”, adding: “He was very shaken. He went and asked if everyone else was all right.”

He said he believed the duke had emerged from a side road on the Sandringham estate moments before the collision. Mr Warne said: “I did not see it but he came from the side road. I saw it careering and tumbling across the road and ending up on the other side.” He said royal aides were in a second car who arrived at the scene very quickly. “There was a little bit of blood and one of the royal entourage gave me a wipe to wipe my hands,” Mr Warne added. In a separate interview, the barrister said: “It was an astonishing escape for everyone. People could have been killed.”

Prince Philip: The Duke of Edinburgh - In pictures

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He described how he helped Philip out of the vehicle. “I reached into the car, put my hands under his armpits and gently eased him out,” Mr Warne said. “He stood up and was unharmed but was obviously very shocked. He was disorientated and humbled. I believe he was very sorry about what had happened. The sun was very low in the sky.”

Mr Warne added: “I looked down and had the prince’s blood on my hands. All I could think of is, thank goodness there wasn’t more.”

Concerns have been raised about road safety on the A149. By coincidence, Norfolk county council was scheduled to meet today to discuss plans to lower the speed limit on the road from 60mph to 50mph and install safety cameras.

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