Men are believed to be badly injured having fled car that crashed into front garden of house in Branton on Tuesday

Police are concerned for the safety of two seriously injured men who fled a burning car that crashed into the front garden of a house near Doncaster, killing two occupants and leaving another with life-threatening injuries.



The Renault Megane smashed through a garden wall in Branton at 12.50pm on Tuesday and burst into flames.



Inspector Steve Askham, of South Yorkshire police, said on Wednesday: “From the witness accounts we have so far, one of the men had a terrible leg injury, which we believe was caused by the fire.

“People have told us the men were seriously injured and we believe they need urgent medical attention due to the impact of the crash and also the fire,” he said.

“No one has been treated at hospital with these injuries or at our local GPs, so the likelihood is that these men are still suffering with serious injuries which could be life-threatening and have terrible consequences. I urge them to come forward to get the treatment they need.”

Askham urged anyone who knew where the men were “to come forward and tell us what you know so that we can ensure they are safe and well”. He also appealed for any witnesses who took photographs or filmed what happened to share their images with police as these could be crucial to the investigation.

Police have still not formally identified the two men who died.

Garden centre worker Michael Burton, the son of the house’s owners, said his girlfriend was in the house when the car caught fire and that the rockery had probably stopped it hitting the building and causing more damage.



Burton said: “From what I heard, she actually saw the driver get out of the car, burning alive. He ran across the road to the lady across the road and she did a sterling job to help the guy. If it wasn’t for her, he would have been another fatality.”

Burton had been at a garden centre nearby, but when he heard a noise he thought a lorry had clipped the kerb and toppled over. “I looked at my colleague, Dave, and just said: ‘My garden’s on fire.’ We both ran up the road as quick as we could.

“My first thought was my girlfriend – is she all right, is she out of the house? There was the wall all over the floor and there was a car upside down and on fire,” Burton said. “It seems that it has lost control at high speed, it’s gone through the bollard a bit further down the road and it’s gone through my wall.

“Luckily we had a rockery in the garden because, if that rockery hadn’t been there, I’ve got a feeling that the car would have gone through the front of the house. If that had happened the car would have been on fire and the house would have gone up in flames.”

Burton said there was a speeding problem on the nearby road. The house is owned by his parents, who are on holiday in Tenerife.

A local business owner told BBC Radio 5 Live his CCTV system caught cars speeding just moments before the crash. “We saw there were two cars, possibly three cars, racing side-by-side and ... they were hitting one another. The wing mirrors and so-forth were flying off and dust from the edge of the road. After that they sped past and there was an almighty crash and that was out of sight.”

Another witness, Tracey Jackson, had earlier described how the car involved in the incident had overtaken the one she and her husband were travelling in, weaving in and out of traffic and overtaking when there was traffic coming the other way.

“My husband was really angry because it nearly caused us to crash, and the five of them in the car were swearing at my husband as they passed us,” Jackson said.

After the crash the driver had got out of the car but was on fire. Two other men had fled apparently badly injured, one with a severe leg injury. “We don’t know what happened to them, they just ran away. All five of them looked like they were in their 20s,” Jackson added.

Police have appealed for anyone with information about the crash or the missing men to contact 101, quoting the incident number 451 of Tuesday 25 August. They could alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Those with images should email enquiries@southyorks.pnn.police.uk, quoting the incident number.

