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No arrests one year after Mati Tabaka, 20, killed in crash at Flanders Field crash roundabout, Ashford

By: Liane Castle lcastle@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 05:00, 30 July 2024

Updated: 12:32, 30 July 2024

No arrests have been made one year on from a horror crash in which a 20-year-old man was killed.

Mati Tabaka was a passenger in a black VW Golf which collided with the Flanders Field roundabout in Ashford in the early hours of Sunday, July 30.

Mati Tabaka died following a crash in Ashford

He was one of four people in the car and had been on his way back from a party when the accident happened, police believe.

But now a year on from the tragedy, inquiries into Mr Tabaka’s death are ongoing and no arrests have been made.

A 21-year-old man was interviewed under caution but inquiries continue.

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Last year an inquest at County Hall in Maidstone heard that the four people in the vehicle – all of whom were friends – were believed by police to have been at a party in the lead-up to the tragic incident.

Assistant Coroner Sarah Clarke said that Mr Tabaka was found in a back seat of the VW by emergency services after they were called to the crash at around 12.10am, with the vehicle having landed in a ditch near the roundabout.

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Friends described Mati Tabaka as a “lovely lad” with the “purest soul”

He had suffered fatal injuries to his head and chest and was declared dead at the scene.

A fundraiser to return the young man to his home country of Poland was set up by a family friend and raised more than £10,000.

The three other people in the car – all men with one aged 20 and two aged 19 – were all taken to hospital with serious injuries.

All four are understood to be former North School pupils.

The air ambulance was also called to the scene, along with six fire engines and two height vehicles. Firefighters used cutting tools and hydraulic rescue equipment to free the casualties and left just after 5am.

Tributes were laid at Flanders Field roundabout following the fatal collision

Tributes to Mr Tabaka were left along the pavement near the roundabout, including flowers, handwritten notes and candles laid in the shape of an M.

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Others described him as a “lovely lad” who had the “purest soul”.

There were also pictures of him with his friends and a balloon reading ‘Rest in peace Mati’.

Bottles of vodka and several Tyskie Gronies, a Polish beer, were left, as well as shot glasses.

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