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CrashStats

Fatal A1 crash in Wakefield on 22 December 1979 at 11:15 involving a car

Five cars were involved in a crash on the A1 in Wakefield at 11:15 on Saturday 22 December 1979. A 60-year-old female passenger in vehicle 5 and the 65-year-old male driver of vehicle 5 were killed, five other people were seriously injured and one was slightly injured.

It happened in daylight in fine weather on a dry dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
22 Dec 1979
Saturday, 11:15
Vehicles
5
Car and 4 others
Casualties
8
2 killed, 5 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 53.66038, longitude -1.26665, in the WF8 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in Wakefield

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197913M148279
Council area
Wakefield
Police force
West Yorkshire

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
1
Road type
Dual carriageway
Speed limit
70 mph

Junction information

Junction type
Not at junction or within 20 metres

Pedestrian crossing information

Crossing facilities
No physical crossing facility within 50 m

Environmental conditions

Light conditions
Daylight
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 12 metres away, was a serious injury crash on 19 January 2022.

Vehicles involved (5)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Changing lane to right
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside, crossed central reservation
    First point of impact
    Offside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    65 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside, crossed central reservation
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Female
    Driver age
    30 years

  • Vehicle 3: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    First point of impact
    Offside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    58 years

  • Vehicle 4: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    24 years

  • Vehicle 5: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    65 years

Casualties (8)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Fatal

    Female, aged 60, car occupant, in vehicle 5 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Fatal

    Male, aged 65, car occupant, in vehicle 5 (Car)

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 65, car occupant, in vehicle 5 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 25, car occupant, in vehicle 5 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 5: Driver

    Serious

    Female, aged 30, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

  • Casualty 6: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 8, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 7: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 6, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 8: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 60, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

Data source

This record comes from the Department for Transport’s road safety data (STATS19), in which police forces in Great Britain record every road crash reported to them where someone was injured. It is reference 197913M148279 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Wakefield road accident statistics for 1979.