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CrashStats

Fatal A39 crash in Somerset on 16 December 1988 at 16:35 involving a car

A car and a lorry were involved in a crash on the A39 in Somerset at 16:35 on Friday 16 December 1988. The 77-year-old female driver of the car was killed.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in the rain on a wet single carriageway with a 60 mph limit, at a private drive or entrance.

Severity
Fatal
Date
16 Dec 1988
Friday, 16:35
Vehicles
2
Car and lorry
Casualties
1
1 killed

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.25519, longitude -2.59921, in the BA5 postcode district. The location was in the former Mendip district.

Map of where the crash happened in Somerset

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
198852FW01833
Council area
Somerset
Police force
Avon and Somerset

Road and location details

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

Junction information

Junction type
Using private drive or entrance
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, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 7 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 25 October 2021.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

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

  • Vehicle 2: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Towing and articulation
    Articulated vehicle
    Manoeuvre
    Turning right
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South West
    First point of impact
    Offside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    41 years

Casualties (1)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Fatal

    Female, aged 77, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (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 198852FW01833 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Somerset road accident statistics for 1988.