Morning:
10°c
Driver gets unexpected lift from bollards
Evening Standard13 Jan 2009
A BUNGLING AA mechanic put a stranded motorist in a wheel spin - after giving her car an unexpected lift.
CCTV footage shows how the patrolman drove though an automatic security barrier while towing a broken down vehicle.
But while his van passed though unscathed, the motorist he was towing was launched into the air by two hydraulic bollards.
The shocked driver was then forced to scramble from her black BMW, which was hoisted up at a 45 degree angle.
Terrible Towing Failure - Watch more Auto Videos
AA officials claimed their mechanic had done 'everything by the book'.
A spokesman said: “The patrolman was assured that it was fine to proceed through the barrier. He did everything by the book and drove through in
good faith.”
The blunder happened on December 30 last year during a routine breakdown call-out.
The vehicle was being towed to a British Airways car park near Heathrow, London, as the stranded motorist was an airline employee and had been en
route to work.
But a bad day soon got even worse for the unlucky driver as she approached the car park barrier.
Within seconds of the AA van passing through safely the security system, designed to allow one vehicle through at a time, was triggered.
Moments later the security barrier came crashing down on top of her car while two bollards launched up from the ground thrusting her car six feet into the air.
The CCTV footage of the incident later appeared on a number of video sharing websites.
An AA spokesman added: “We are aware of the video being on Youtube and we understand that British Airways are investigating.
“Our patrolman had explained the situation to the security team at the car park and they assured him that towing the vehicle wasn't a problem. No one was injured.”
