A MAN died and a girl was seriously injured after an horrific late night car crash in Gillingham.

The pair suffered serious injuries after the car they were travelling in careered through the central reservation in Pier Road, Gillingham, at about 11.20pm Monday night. The car narrowly missed a car on the other side of the road.

The man, believed to be in his 20s and from Medway, died from his injuries at Medway Maritime Hospital. He has not yet been named.

The teenage girl suffered multiple injuries.

Firefighters had to cut the roof from the car to free the man from the wreckage but the girl freed herself before being comforted by motorists who had stopped to help, including sports reporter Jason Kayley of the Medway Today newspaper.

Mr Kayley, 29, was driving on the other side of the road with his girlfriend, Michelle Walsh, 30 ,in the car and was forced to brake as the car landed on the carriageway ahead of him.

He said: "It was like something from a film. I was just driving along when I saw this silver flash and then a car flip off the railings on the central reservation and fly 20 feet into the air like a toy car. It spun end over end before it landed back on its wheels about 30 ft in front of me when it entered the carriageway.

"I was doing about 40 mph so another second or so and it would have ploughed into us and I dread to think what could have happened. There was debris everywhere. The car cut through the railings on the central reservation. We were both shaken up and it was a very frightening experience."

A fire brigade spokesman said: "The car had gone through the central reservation, pieces of which were stuck to the car and had come to rest about 50 yards away.

"We arrived to find members of the public treating the female on the verge.

"We cut the roof off the car to free the male, who was breathing and conscious and paramedics treated him."

The road, a dual carriageway with a 40 mph limit, was closed in both directions as police accident investigators attended.

Police are looking for witnesses to the crash, which happened at Pier Road's junction with Camden Road. Call Medway Police on 01634 884252 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.