Taxi death crash survivor speaks

Oct 7 2008 by Andrew Hirst, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A YOUNG man has told of the terrible moment he realised a taxi driver had died in a horror crash.

Rugby league fan Tom Wigglesworth and his friend, Luke Mathie, were passengers in the taxi driven by 61-year-old grandfather Tarlochan Singh Deo.

The taxi hit a crumpled road sign which had been badly damaged and bent into the road after it had been hit by another car on Wakefield Road, Lepton, just minutes earlier.

In the freak accident at 4am on Sunday, Mr Deo’s silver Skoda Octavia was flipped over by the pole and rolled over.

Neither Mr Deo nor Tom – the back seat passenger – were wearing seatbelts, but Luke was wearing his. Father-of-four Mr Deo was partially flung from the car and was trapped underneath.

Tom was thrown around inside the car, but believes the front seats stopped him from being thrown out too.