POLICE pulling over a taxi on the A140, discovered one man crawling from the mangled wreck of an overturned car under which Felixstowe man Alexander Parish died.

By Tracey Sparling

POLICE pulling over a taxi on the A140, discovered one man crawling from the mangled wreck of an overturned car under which Felixstowe man Alexander Parish died.

The crash - the first of two fatal accidents on Suffolk roads yesterday - brought the total number of people killed on Suffolk's roads to 54 so far this year.

It happened at Stonham Parva, maybe just seconds before the patrol car drew up in the dark, misty, early hours of yesterday.

Officers spotted a man staggering out of the red Vauxhall Corsa, and the body of driver Mr Parish, 21, was found trapped underneath.

The car had veered off the road - which the Evening Star is campaigning to get made safer - hit a brick garden wall, flown into the air crashing through branches of Leylandii trees, to land on its roof back in the carriageway.

The man who had been catapulted out of the car suffered serious injuries, and a third man was described by police as 'walking wounded.'

The two survivors aged 20 and 21 were taken to Ipswich Hospital by ambulance.

Mr Parish had borrowed the car from his parents, Ralph and Angela and was driving home from a party in the Norwich area when it crashed.

Mr Parish senior said his son, who was studying to be a civil engineer at Loughborough University, was in the third year of a four-year course and was working in London with a civil engineering firm, called Interserve, as part of a 12-month placement. He had returned home for the weekend to see his family, including his brother Thomas, 18, as well as his numerous friends at the time of the accident.

"He was very good at football and was captain of his team at Loughborough University," Mr Parish said.

"He had grown up in Felixstowe and had gone to Deben High School. He liked people and we always thought that when he came home, as he was working in London, that as soon as he was here people were ringing up and coming round. He was the centre of things."

Mr Parish did not know what had happened in the accident, but he had heard that the other two boys were sleeping when the car had crashed at 4.30am.

Accident investigators from Suffolk Police are today looking into what caused the crash.

Pc Chris Rodda said the car had been heading south from Norwich, and appealed for anyone who had seen it being driven on the A140 to contact police.

He added: "A taxi driver was about to be stopped by officers when they came across the accident, and one man was just getting out of the vehicle. Another man had been ejected from the vehicle, and one casualty had died."

The road remained closed until 10.45am, while the debris was cleared.

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POLICE are also continuing an investigation today into the death of a motorcyclist on the A1088.

The accident at the Fakenham Hill crossroads in Honington, near Bury St Edmunds, happened hours after Mr Parish died.

Suffolk police were called to Honington at 1.15pm on Sunday, where a white Honda motorcycle had crashed and a man's body was lying on the road.

The victim is believed to be from west Suffolk.

Sean Traynor, landlord of the nearby The Fox pub revealed that the crossroads was an accident black spot.

He said: "The first we knew of the accident was when cars were reversing on our car park because the road was closed.

"I think one motorbike crossed the road into the path of an oncoming vehicle."

"Traffic is a big concern here and part of our parish plan is to get speed restrictions on the A1088.

"We have been here 12 months and that was the fourth incident that we know of. There have been several accidents and a wall opposite the crossroads has been repatched again and again.

Another Honington resident said: "All I saw was the aftermath. There was just a bike and a bloke lying in the road, and the police were here for nearly two hours."

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Anyone who saw either of these vehicles on the road, or the accidents, is asked to contact Suffolk police on 01473 613500.