Storm Henk: Thames Valley Police refers itself to IOPC over death of elderly driver who hit fallen tree

An elderly woman driver died after hitting a fallen tree which reportedly had been reported to police about 90 minutes earlier as Storm Henk battered the country. The 87-year-old, who has not been named, was in a red Smart Forfour when she collided with it near Crays Pond, Oxfordshire, at about 5.25pm on Tuesday (January 2)

Thames Valley Police said it has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in connection with the death. The driver died at the scene. Her next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. No arrests have been made.

The force said it had made the mandatory referral to the IOPC because it had received a report about the tree being down approximately an hour-and-a-half before the collision.

Senior investigating officer Sergeant Dominic Mahon, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, also issued an appeal about the incident. He said: “We would like to appeal for anyone that witnessed the collision, or saw the car prior to it, to contact us. We would also ask any drivers with a dash-camera who were in the area at the time to check their recordings and let us know if it has captured anything that could help our investigation. Get in touch by calling 101 or via our website, quoting reference number 43240002053.”