THREE young men sustained “life-changing” injuries when a car they were travelling in smashed into a van in a Hornchurch country road at the weekend.

THREE young men sustained “life-changing” injuries when a car they were travelling in smashed into a van in a Hornchurch country road at the weekend.

The trio – thought to be in their early twenties – were taken to the Royal London Hospital, in Whitechapel, in east London, by London Ambulance Service (LAS) after the smash in Hacton Lane, at around 1.15am on Sunday.

One of the group sustained serious head injuries, police said, and underwent emergency surgery.

The three, who were travelling in a Ford Fiesta, remain in hospital.

The van driver, a man in his 60s, was taken to Queen’s Hospital, in Rom Valley Way, Romford, with minor injuries.

A spokesman for Havering Police said: “It was a very serious accident. All three [travelling in the car] received life-changing injuries, including broken bones and a head injury.

“Roads were closed in and around the accident spot for some hours after the crash.”

Chadwell Heath Road Traffic Collision Unit is investigating.

A LAS spokesman said: “We sent four ambulance crews, a single responder in a car, a duty officer and the air ambulance doctor in a car to the scene.”