Four people were killed and several more injured, when a gravel lorry careered around the corner and crashed into vehicles and pedestrians.
The tragic accident happened in Bath around 4pm yesterday.
Witnesses said the truck driver appeared to be having brake trouble when he lost control on the steep hill.
According to reports, the driver was frantically beeping, as he tried to avoid an accident.
Emergency services set up a base at the primary school by the scene of the accident, which will be closed this morning.
A 66-year-old woman who lives opposite the scene of the crash said:
"My whole house shook with a terrific noise like a bomb going off"
‘My whole house shook with a terrific noise like a bomb going off. I rushed outside and it was just mayhem.
‘The lorry was on its side on top of a black car, and I was told three people in the black car had died.
‘The gravel from the lorry was all over the road and the fire brigade arrived and cut the bodies free from the wreckage.
‘The lorry had hit lots of other cars on its way down the hill, and I was told there was a grandmother, mother and daughter walking along the pavement and that the little girl had been killed when the lorry mounted the pavement.
‘It demolished the walls of all the houses on the corner and two workmen said the driver shot through the windscreen.'
Another resident said the road was unsuitable for lorries.
Last night none of the victims had been named by Avon and Somerset Police.