Appeal for Witnesses to Park Royal Crash Continues
Cars seen racing in the area before death of 33-year-old woman
Yagmur Ozden died in the crash. Picture: LinkedIn
Police investigating the circumstances of a fatal crash on the A40 are continuing to appeal for witnesses to come forward. They are still piecing together the chain of events which led to the death of a young woman and has left a 24-year-old man in a critical condition. They have acknowledged that reports of high performance cars seen racing in the area form part of their investigation.
The driver of the car, which crashed by Park Royal station killing a woman passenger, is in a coma fighting for his life.
The dead woman has been named as Yagmur Ozden, a 33-year-old woman with a 12-year-old daughter. Friends have described her as someone who was always prepared to help others out. She had been raised in Lebanon by a Jordanian mother and a Palestinian father, and moved to the UK to be with her mother and sister.
She had previously run a beauty salon in Kilburn but this closed down during the pandemic.
Her family has been informed and have asked for their privacy to be respected at this time. Another female passenger in the car, named as 26-year-old Zamarod Arif, has been treated for injuries which at not life-threatening ‘at this stage’. Reportedly she has a broken arm and leg.
The driver has been named in the press as Rida Al Mousawi, a 24-year-old manager of a jewellery shop in Edgware his father is believed to own. Friends have told reporters that he narrowly avoided the need to have a leg amputated but remains in a critical condition in St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
The car he was driving reportedly reached speeds of over 120mph before careering off the A40 westbound at 3.48am on Monday (22 August).
A mangled fence in front of Park Royal Station
The Range Rover crashed through two fences into a Tesla dealership, injuring a 56-year-old Uber driver who was recharging his vehicle, before landing on the tracks of the Piccadilly line. Another driver who was also charging his car at the same time reports seeing the Range Rover fly through the air before crashing into the railway tracks.
It is understood that Mr Al Mousawi met the two women at the Wish Lounge, a shisha restaurant in Park Royal, and had offered them a lift home before the crash occurred .
He had recently purchased the Range Rover Sport SVR which has a 5-litre engine and a top speed of 176mph. Residents in the area have reported that there was exceptionally loud noise coming from cars on the A40 for over an hour before the crash happened. A BMW was seen driving around the Hanger Lane Gyratory at high speed.
The car left the A40 around this point. Picture: Google Streetview
Flowers have been placed at the scene of the accident by relatives of the victims and local people.
Park Royal station has now partially reopened but engineers are still working to repair the damage to the tracks.
Detective Sergeant Jim Hinchliffe, Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU) said, "I am aware of the extensive coverage in the media and online. I would remind media and members of the public that this remains a live investigation and we continue to investigate the full circumstances of the collision.
"I appreciate there is much speculation around the circumstances, including whether there had been racing in the area beforehand, and all of this forms part of the investigation.”
Detective Constable Ben Simpson, investigating, said, "It is imperative that anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has any dash cam, CCTV or doorbell footage of the moments leading up to it, make contact with the police immediately.
“A person has died and another remains critically ill in hospital and we need the public's help to build our picture of what has happened here."
Any witnesses yet to speak with police or with any footage are asked to call the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0208 543 5157.
You can also contact police via 101 or @MetCC ref CAD 905/22Aug. To remain 100% anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
August 28, 2022