Personal injury news

Footballer dies in road traffic accident

A young footballer has died after a horrific road traffic accident in Berkshire. 21-year-old Mark Philo, a midfielder for League Two leaders Wycombe Wanderers, was involved in a collision in Wokingham in the early hours of Saturday 14 th January 2006.

The driver of the other car, a woman in her 60s, died at the scene but Philo was cut from the wreckage and rushed to hospital. Doctors attempted to treat the road traffic accident victim but he was unable to recover from his personal injuries and his life support machine was turned off at 4.20pm .

Two male passengers who were travelling with the footballer were also freed by firefighters but were able to walk away with only cuts and bruises.

Mark Philo made 17 appearances for Wycombe Wanderers since joining them as a young trainee, and his manager, John Gorman paid tribute to him by saying, “He was a fantastic kid. He lived for football and always had a smile on his face.”

Philo is the third footballer to die in a road traffic accident in recent years, following the death of Portsmouth’s Aaron Flahavan in 2001 and Manchester United’s Jimmy Davis in 2003.

A book of condolence has been opened at Wycombe’s Causeway Stadium.