Manhunt Ends as Dangerous Driver Behind Blackwall Tunnel Chaos is Arrested
18-Year-Old Johal Rathour Causes £80K Crash and £585K Traffic Nightmare
Johal Rathour, 18, from Grays, sparked chaos in the early hours of 6 August 2021, smashing a stolen Range Rover into a Mercedes van inside the Blackwall Tunnel. The crash caused a whopping £80,000 damage to both vehicles. Even worse, the tunnel was forced to shut for over two hours during rush hour, costing Transport for London a staggering £585,000 in lost revenue.
Miracle: No Serious Injuries After Reckless Wrong-Way Driving
Despite the carnage, the van driver escaped serious injury—a miracle considering Rathour’s terrifying stunt driving the wrong way through the tunnel. Rathour fled the scene but was quickly tracked down by Met Police officers using forensic evidence and mobile phone tracking.
Justice Served After Rathour Skips Court
Rathour was charged but failed to show up in court. The Met’s Road and Transport Policing Command didn’t give up. They finally arrested him in January this year.
Police Constable Adam Lamb said: “Rathour was guilty of an incredibly dangerous piece of driving and it was a miracle that nobody was seriously injured. Watching the video of him driving the wrong way through the tunnel is very distressing as it seems inevitable that a fatal collision would happen.”
“As well as the damage to the stolen vehicle and the van he collided with, Rathour also disrupted and delayed the journeys of thousands of people using Blackwall Tunnel on the day of the crash. I am glad that he has faced justice for his actions and will not be able to drive on the roads of London for many years.”
