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CrashStats

Fatal M1 crash in West Northamptonshire on 17 November 1979 at 17:45 involving a car

Four cars were involved in a crash on the M1 in West Northamptonshire at 17:45 on Saturday 17 November 1979. The 41-year-old male driver of vehicle 3 was killed, four other people were seriously injured and three were slightly injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in the rain on a wet dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
17 Nov 1979
Saturday, 17:45
Vehicles
4
Car and 3 others
Casualties
8
1 killed, 4 seriously injured, 3 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 52.34844, longitude -1.15436, in the NN6 postcode district. The location was in the former Daventry district.

Map of where the crash happened in West Northamptonshire

Use the arrow keys to move the map and the plus and minus keys to zoom.

  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197934DD00754
Council area
West Northamptonshire
Police force
Northamptonshire

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
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
Dark, no street lighting
Weather
Raining, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 17 March 1983.

Vehicles involved (4)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Towing and articulation
    Single trailer
    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    Skidding and overturning
    Jackknifed
    First point of impact
    Offside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    46 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside onto central reservation and rebounded
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    51 years

  • Vehicle 3: Car

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

  • Vehicle 4: Car

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

Casualties (8)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 46, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 41, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 51, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 22, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 5: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 49, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 6: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 22, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 7: Driver

    Fatal

    Male, aged 41, car occupant, in vehicle 3 (Car)

  • Casualty 8: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 29, car occupant, in vehicle 4 (Car)

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 197934DD00754 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the West Northamptonshire road accident statistics for 1979.