Chadwell Heath man dies after car smashes into tree

A 21-year-old man was killed and a woman trapped in a car for more than half an hour when their car collided with a tree yesterday.

Essex Police are appealing for witnesses including a pedestrian who left before police arrived at the scene of the fatal crash in Brentwood on Tuesday night.

Jake Staines of Chadwell Heath, was pronounced dead, while an unnamed female passenger, also 21, was taken to hospital with serious injuries after their car hit a tree near the Holiday Inn, in Brook Street.

An Essex Ambulance spokesman said: “We were called at 10.42pm and arrived at the scene within six minutes. One person was confirmed dead and another was trapped, once the other passenger was freed they were taken to the Royal London Hospital.”

A spokesman for Essex Fire Service confirmed: “Their vehicle left the roadway and collided with a tree late on Wednesday night.”

The female passenger was treated by a medic from the London Air Ambulance on her way to hospital, but a helicopter was not dispatched to the scene.

Brentwood resident Mrs Chapman, of Wigley Rush Lane, said: “We heard the crash, it was like a loud bang. We hear them all the time down this road so we didn’t think it was anything, but then we saw that they had cordoned off the road and we knew it was serious.”

Anyone who witnessed the crash or saw the Focus prior to the impact, is asked to contact police on 0300 333 4444.