Police have made two arrests after the Vastern Road motorbike crash and want to trace a taxi driver seen on CCTV. One man has life-threatening injuries.

Two people are in hospital with serious injuries after two motorbikes collided on Vastern Road in the early hours of Saturday. Thames Valley Police believes three people were on the bikes, and that one of them failed to stop at the scene.

Updated 1 October: the force has made two arrests, says one man has life-threatening injuries, and is appealing to trace a taxi driver who drove towards the scene. Details below.

The force is asking for footage. It is the second serious-injury crash in the same corner of Reading in a week: on Sunday 20 September a man in his 80s was hit by a car in Gosbrook Road, Caversham, and that appeal is still open too.

Vastern Road: what the police have said

Thames Valley Police’s statement, as carried in full by Hits Radio and in summary by the BBC, reads:

“Vastern Road between Caversham Road and George Street is closed for vehicles and pedestrians after a collision. Two motorbikes were in collision at about 2.15am today. We believe there were three people on the motorbikes and one person failed to stop at the scene. Two people are in hospital with serious injuries. We are appealing for anyone with footage from the area or who saw the motorbikes to contact us as soon as possible.”

The BBC reported that the station, the car parks and nearby businesses stayed open while the road was shut.

Update, 1 October: two arrests and a taxi driver appeal

Thames Valley Police has now published the appeal on its own news pages. The force says it has made two arrests in connection with the investigation:

  • a 21-year-old man from Reading, arrested on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle when alcohol above limit, driving whilst disqualified, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and theft of motor vehicle. The force says he is having treatment in hospital while still in police custody.
  • a 20-year-old man from Oxford, arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and theft of motor vehicle, failing to stop and failing to report accident. He was in police custody when the force published its statement.

Another man remains in hospital with life-threatening injuries. An arrest is not a charge, and neither man has been charged.

The force now wants to find one specific witness. Police Sergeant Matt Cadmore, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “I’m making a public appeal today to identify a taxi driver who drove towards the scene shortly after the collision. This taxi driver might be a key witness in our investigation, so if this was your vehicle pictured in the CCTV, or someone knows the taxi driver then please contact the force as soon as possible.”

The CCTV image is on the force’s appeal page. The statement we hold does not include a reference number.

Vastern Road links the Caversham Road junction by the station’s north side with the approach to Reading Bridge. The closed section was the one between Caversham Road and George Street.

Gosbrook Road, Caversham: appeal still open

Thames Valley Police published a separate witness appeal on Friday for a crash the previous weekend.

  • When: about 4.30pm on Sunday 20 September
  • Where: Gosbrook Road, Caversham
  • What: a pedestrian in his 80s was in collision with a grey Vauxhall Zafira
  • Injuries: he was taken to hospital and treated for multiple fractures
  • Arrests: none, the force said
  • Reference: 43260491072

PC Alex Jarratt, of the Roads Policing Unit, said: “I also ask any drivers who were in the area at the time to review their dashcam footage as it may contain important information about the collision or the moments leading up to it.”

Gosbrook Road’s record

Serious injuries on Gosbrook Road are rare. We checked the Department for Transport’s road casualty data for 2021 to 2025, keeping only collisions logged within 20 metres of the road itself. It records six injury collisions on Gosbrook Road in those five years:

  • six people hurt, all slightly
  • two of them pedestrians
  • nobody killed or seriously injured

Across the whole borough in the same five years, 291 pedestrians were hurt in reported collisions. Six were killed and 74 seriously injured. Twenty-five of the 291 were aged 70 or over, and three of those died.

The figures count only collisions reported to the police in which someone was hurt, and the 2025 figures may still be revised. The 20 September collision will not appear in them until the 2026 data is published.

What it means for you

If you were out in the town centre early on Saturday, check your phone and your dashcam. The police want footage from around Vastern Road at about 2.15am on 26 September, and anyone who saw the two motorbikes before or after the crash. Doorbell cameras on the streets off Vastern Road and Caversham Road may also have caught them.

If you drove along Gosbrook Road on the afternoon of Sunday 20 September, your dashcam may have recorded the Zafira or the moments before the collision.

How to get it to the police:

  • call 101, or use the force’s online reporting form
  • quote 43260491072 for Gosbrook Road
  • for Vastern Road, give the date, the time and the road, and say if you are, or know, the taxi driver in the force’s CCTV image
  • to stay anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or use its website

Footage is often overwritten within days on a loop recorder, so save a copy now even if you are not sure it shows anything.

Our roadworks and travel page carries planned closures across Reading, and is updated through the week.