by Richard Robins
18 October 2010
Three people have been left with serious injuries after a seven-tonne lorry crashed into the front of a hotel on Friday morning.
The Royal Mail delivery vehicle struck the front of the Mariners Hotel in Lyme Regis, Dorset, at about 10.30am.
One of the men who was most seriously injured in the accident was named locally as 38 year old Mauritius-born accountant Alexander Quan-Yat-Koon, whose leg had to be amputated at the scene.It is understood he was walking along the pavement outside the 17th-century building when the lorry struck, despite shouts from other observers to get out of the way. He was airlifted to hospital in Exeter while the Daily Mail reports, paramedics carried his amputated limb away in ice.
Another man who was sitting inside the hotel was taken to Dorset County Hospital, as was the driver of the lorry, who is believed to be from nearby Bournemouth.
Firefighters also put structural supports in place to ensure that the building did not collapse, as major structural damage was caused. The hotel’s owner took the decision to shut the premises for the weekend following the accident.