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CrashStats

Serious A40 crash in South Oxfordshire on 25 October 1979 at 09:45 involving a car

Five cars, a van and a lorry were involved in a crash on the A40 in South Oxfordshire at 09:45 on Thursday 25 October 1979. A 10-year-old female passenger in vehicle 2 was seriously injured and a 13-year-old male passenger in vehicle 2 and a 35-year-old female passenger in vehicle 2 were slightly injured.

It happened in daylight in the rain on a wet dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Serious
Date
25 Oct 1979
Thursday, 09:45
Vehicles
7
Car and 6 others
Casualties
3
1 seriously injured, 2 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.75297, longitude -1.14104, in the OX33 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in South Oxfordshire

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197943H085109
Council area
South Oxfordshire
Police force
Thames Valley

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
40
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
Raining, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 7 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 8 May 2025.

Vehicles involved (7)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    49 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    36 years

  • Vehicle 3: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    36 years

  • Vehicle 4: Van

    Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Waiting to go ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    First point of impact
    Did not impact
    Driver sex
    Male

  • Vehicle 5: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    First point of impact
    Did not impact
    Driver sex
    Male

  • Vehicle 6: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    First point of impact
    Did not impact
    Driver sex
    Male

  • Vehicle 7: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    First point of impact
    Did not impact
    Driver sex
    Male

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 10, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 13, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 35, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (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 197943H085109 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the South Oxfordshire road accident statistics for 1979.