Theatregoers saw a real life drama unfold after hearing an explosion-like bang as many were queuing for the toilet during the interval at Chester’s Grosvenor Park.
People who had been watching open air Shakespeare rushed to the perimeter fence about 9pm last night (Thursday, July 29) to see a head-on collision on a one-way section of the inner ring road in Union Street.
Within a matter of seconds two police cars arrived from both directions with a marked patrol car apparently following a Vauxhall Corsa which had gone the wrong way.
The force of the collision caused the Corsa’s passenger wheel to completely sheer off and it landed alongside the other car.
Its sole occupant, a woman driver from Flintshire, was initially lying on her back in the road handcuffed as an officer watched over her. She did not appear injured.
Two women in the other car, a small Peugeot, remained sitting in the vehicle but later walked to the ambulance to be checked over.
Most theatregoers returned for the second half of the Merry Wives of Windsor at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre. Among the audience was University of Chester vice-chancellor Professor Tim Wheeler, Cheshire West and Chester Council chief executive Steve Robinson, Conservative group leader Cllr Mike Jones and Rita Waters, chief executive of CH1ChesterBid Company.
But residents who had also heard the bang watched from the Forest Court and Knightsbridge Court retirement flats.
One witness, a woman driver who was following the Peugeot car, told The Chronicle: “Everybody seems to be OK, which is the main thing.”
A Cheshire Constabulary spokesman said: “At 8.51pm on Wednesday, July 29 police received reports of concerns over the driver of a black Vauxhall Corsa on St John Street in Chester, who appeared to be intoxicated.
“The driver left the scene in the vehicle and went on to be in collision with two cars – a Ford Fiesta and a Skoda Octavia – before colliding head-on with a Peugeot on Vicars Lane.
“The driver, a 43-year-old woman from the Garden City area of Deeside, was arrested at the scene and is currently helping police with their enquiries.”
Police confirmed later she had been charged with dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol and being in possession of a controlled substance. She is due to appear before Chester magistrates on September 2.
North West Ambulance Service confirmed a rapid response vehicle and an ambulance were sent to the scene. Three patients were seen but nobody required hospital treatment.
