At approximately 7:20 p.m. on the evening of December 11th, 2002, the Siri police department in a rural English County began receiving numerous frantic emergency calls. These calls were exclusively from drivers on the heavily trafficked A3 highway, all reporting a common scenario. They described encountering an extremely reckless driver with exceptionally bright headlights, weaving dangerously through traffic at high speeds and nearly colliding with others. Some callers even witnessed the vehicle careening down the embankment beside the highway, suggesting a potential crash.
After receiving numerous calls, the Police Department decided to dispatch a pair of officers to investigate the reported incidents. Upon arriving at the specified location on the A3, where multiple calls had claimed sightings of a reckless driver, the officers conducted a thorough patrol. However, they found no trace of the purported driver, no evidence of a roadside accident, and no indications of any mishap. In the absence of corroborating reports and considering the lack of tangible findings, had only one person reported the reckless driver, the officers might have dismissed it as a potential mistake or prank.
However, numerous individuals reported a specific reckless driver on the A3, prompting the two officers to dedicate their efforts to locate and apprehend the culprit. They chose to abandon their patrol car and embark on a foot search along the A3, as the highway was flanked by expansive forests. Notably, Siri, the English county in question, boasted one of the densest forest coverages in the entire country. The officers navigated through these thick woods on both sides of the A3, where visibility was severely limited due to the dense vegetation.
The officers speculated that if the driver was indeed as reckless as described by the callers, there was a possibility that the vehicle might have swerved off the highway, descended the embankment, and, due to its high speed, crashed into one of the nearby forests, effectively vanishing from sight. To witness the crash within the forest, one would likely need to be within the forest itself.
Therefore, the two officers halted their vehicle, disembarked, and proceeded to stroll along the highway’s periphery, their gaze fixed on the forest in search of any indication of a vehicular accident. Subsequently, as they walked for some time, one of the officers discerned an object deep within the woods, exhibiting an appearance that was almost metallic or plastic. Clearly out of place in the forest, the officers ventured into the tree line, navigating through the trees.
As they approached, it became apparent that there was a car wreck deep within the forest. The two officers, recognizing the urgency of the situation, swiftly sprinted toward the crash site while requesting backup on their radios. Upon reaching the wreckage nestled in the heart of the woods, they positioned themselves at the driver’s side and peered inside. Strangely, the driver’s seat was empty. Their scrutiny extended to the passenger side, revealing the wide-open front passenger door. Notably, on the ground opposite the car lay an unmistakable body. With a sense of disbelief, the officers hurried around the vehicle for a closer inspection, grappling with the perplexity of the scene before them.
To grasp why the police officers were taken by surprise at the sight before them, we must rewind five months to July 16th, 2002. On that evening, Christopher Brian Chandler, a 21-year-old man, concluded his drink at a West London pub. It’s worth noting that the pub’s location was approximately one hour north of the section of the A3 Highway in Siri where the car was discovered in the woods.
Tonight, Christopher accompanied by a close friend found himself at a pub. What was supposed to be an enjoyable evening took an unexpected turn. As Christopher concluded his beer, a sense of unease crept over him. Unbeknownst to his companion, Christopher was a wanted man in London for robbery, making him uncomfortable staying in one location for an extended period. The only individuals privy to Christopher’s whereabouts were the friend beside him at the bar and Christopher’s brother, who knew he was at that specific pub.
In the end, Christopher grew increasingly uneasy about lingering in the pub, prompting him to express his desire to leave to his companion. After bidding his friend good night, Christopher departed while the friend remained at the pub. However, Christopher’s journey took an unexpected turn as he failed to reach his intended destination. He seemingly vanished, and no one received any further communication from him.
Christopher’s brother would later file a report about Christopher’s disappearance. However, it’s essential to note that the brother was aware of Christopher’s involvement in a robbery, making Christopher’s sudden decision to go on the run and vanish somewhat expected. The brother didn’t consider it a significant matter, and the police shared a similar perspective, understanding that Christopher was attempting to evade them, making his absence understandable. Consequently, there was minimal follow-up on the missing person report for Christopher, and everyone simply moved on.
Five months later, the situation changed when numerous drivers started reporting to Siri about encountering an extremely reckless driver speeding down the A3. This driver eventually collided with a ditch. Subsequently, two officers responded to the scene on that stretch of the A3 and identified the crashed vehicle as Christopher’s. Unfortunately, the lifeless body on the ground turned out to be Christopher himself. However, an issue arose when the two police officers approached Christopher’s car for the first time—they were taken aback by its remarkably aged appearance.
However, the significance of this fact didn’t immediately dawn on them. What caught their attention was the strikingly antiquated and heavily rusted condition of the car. It was only when they circled around to examine the lifeless form on the ground, identified as Christopher, that they realized his body had largely decomposed into a skeleton. This revelation suggested that Christopher hadn’t met his end in the recent events of this night, December 11th, 2002. It strongly indicated that his fatal crash likely occurred five months earlier, around the time of his disappearance.
The Siri police contend that the entire situation was merely an unfortunate coincidence. They argue that the driver reported as reckless on the A3 that night likely didn’t crash but managed to escape unnoticed. According to their account, it was pure chance that led the police to Chris and his vehicle while searching for the elusive reckless driver. However, it’s crucial to note that numerous drivers who reported the incident that night explicitly described witnessing the car swerve off the embankment and collide below, near the tree line. These reports emphasized the severity of the crash, prompting urgent calls for an ambulance due to the likelihood of injuries.
Upon the police’s arrival and subsequent search in the purported crash site, they discovered a vehicle matching Chris’s that exhibited clear signs of reckless driving on the A3. It had swerved off the road and collided with the woods. Although the calls led them to Chris and his car, it appears unlikely that he was the culprit. The mystery persists as there is no plausible explanation for the incident to date, earning it the moniker of the A3 ghost crash.