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CrashStats

Serious A39 crash in Cornwall on 14 December 1979 at 17:55 involving a car

Two cars and two lorries were involved in a crash on the A39 in Cornwall at 17:55 on Friday 14 December 1979. There were five casualties: three people were seriously injured and two were slightly injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in rain and high winds on a wet single carriageway with a 60 mph limit, at a T or staggered junction.

Severity
Serious
Date
14 Dec 1979
Friday, 17:55
Vehicles
4
Car and 3 others
Casualties
5
3 seriously injured, 2 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.1795, longitude -5.1161, in the TR10 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in Cornwall

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197950A112389
Council area
Cornwall
Police force
Devon and Cornwall

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
39
Road type
Single carriageway
Speed limit
60 mph

Junction information

Junction type
T or staggered junction
Junction control
Give way or uncontrolled
Second road class
Unclassified

Pedestrian crossing information

Crossing facilities
No physical crossing facility within 50 m

Environmental conditions

Light conditions
Dark, no street lighting
Weather
Raining with high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 18 December 1995.

Vehicles involved (4)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    66 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    South East
    Travelling to
    North West
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    36 years

  • Vehicle 3: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

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

  • Vehicle 4: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

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

Casualties (5)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 66, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 36, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 27, goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes), in vehicle 3 (Lorry)

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 32, goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes), in vehicle 3 (Lorry)

  • Casualty 5: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 38, goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes), in vehicle 3 (Lorry)

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 197950A112389 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Cornwall road accident statistics for 1979.