Crash Scene Investigators On ITV1

The picturesque counties of Devon and Cornwall attract millions of visitors every year, but alongside beauty, like many places in the UK, serious danger can lurk on the roads.

When there’s a fatal or near-fatal crash in the counties, Devon and Cornwall’s Collision Investigation Unit are called upon to work out exactly what happened.

Crash Scene Investigators follows the expert officers as they use science and detective work to establish the events that led up to serious road traffic accidents.

On call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it’s their job to piece together the events that led up to each incident. Every dent, skid mark and human witness plays a vital role in assisting the team to reconstruct the scene of the accident, helping them identify the cause, any guilty parties and reach closure for all those involved.

Crash Scene Investigators follows the rigorous forensic and technical work of the police and reveals the impact that road collisions have on loved ones.

Vehicles can travel up to speeds of 70 miles per hour on A-roads, and yet it’s legal to walk and cycle along them. The A38 near Plymouth sees three collisions every day and this episode of Crash Scene Investigators explores two serious collisions that happened just half a mile apart.

Both stories reveal two significantly different outcomes when people take to the road by foot and by bike.

Royal Marine Hayden Rollason, 20, was on leave following a spell in Afghanistan when he was hit by a car while walking along the A38 early in the morning. The impact killed him instantly.

The crash scene investigators must try to establish why he was hit – was there a problem with the car to prevent the brakes from working or should the driver have seen him and avoided him? The film follows them as they reconstruct events that night and look at startling CCTV footage of the moments prior to the collision. They must establish who was at fault and whether anyone should be charged with the young soldier’s death.

Father of two Jerry Brown, 43, was cycling to work on the A38 early in the morning when his bike was hit by a 32 ton truck. He suffered severe injuries to his back, arms, legs and head, while both his kidneys were seriously damaged. As his life hangs in the balance police use forensic photography to try to establish whether he was visible and why the truck hit him. Crash Scene Investigators follows police efforts to determine whether the driver was to blame as Jerry battles with his horrific injuries.

Tuesday, 1 July 2008, 8:00PM - 9:00PM