The A3 Ghost Crash

This story set off hysteria over twelve years ago in Surrey, England.

On December 11, 2002, the police celebrating their annual Christmas party received multiple phone calls from witnesses reporting they had seen headlights veering off the A3 highway near Guildford.

Car accidents are a common occurrence on this British highway so the police responded to the scene fearing the worst.

When they arrived at the scene, however they found no evidence of a crash. They continued to search the area and they discovered a wrecked maroon Vauxhall Astra which had landed nose-down in a ditch.

Crashed car down in ravine.

This car, which apparently careened off the highway, was covered in leaves and undergrowth. The police discovered a decomposed human body inside this car. *

So this was not a recent accident. The police determined it had actually occurred five months before they found the car.

Rumors fueled by the media were circulated that the lost soul in this car had drawn attention to his final resting place by reenacting the accident—where his car lost control.

So was it phantom headlights that all these witnesses saw heading off the highway?

The reporting by the national press set off hysteria over this supposed ghost car sighting. The Surrey Police however have never connected the Vauxhall Astra they discovered to paranormal activity.

Despite this, the story is now firmly embedded in British ghost folklore.

Witnesses to this unexplained sight in 2002 still state that they think about it every time they drive on this stretch of the A3.

*  The body found in the car was determined from dental records to be 21-year old Christopher Brian Chandler from Middlesex. The police wanted him for robbery.