Skip to main content
CrashStats

Fatal A197 crash in Northumberland on 20 December 1985 at 17:20 involving a car

Two cars and a van were involved in a crash on the A197 in Northumberland at 17:20 on Friday 20 December 1985. The 56-year-old male driver of the van was killed, one other person was seriously injured and two were slightly injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in fine weather on a wet single carriageway with a 60 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
20 Dec 1985
Friday, 17:20
Vehicles
3
Car and 2 others
Casualties
4
1 killed, 1 seriously injured, 2 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 55.1764, longitude -1.66946, in the NE61 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in Northumberland

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

  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
198510A114985
Council area
Northumberland
Police force
Northumbria

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
197
Road type
Single carriageway
Speed limit
60 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
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 71 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 17 June 1991.

Vehicles involved (3)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

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

  • Vehicle 2: Van

    Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes

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

  • Vehicle 3: Car

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

Casualties (4)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 29, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Fatal

    Male, aged 56, van occupant, in vehicle 2 (Van)

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 21, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 20, 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 198510A114985 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Northumberland road accident statistics for 1985.