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CrashStats

Fatal A38 crash in Somerset on 2 December 1997 at 18:10 involving a Fiat Panda

A Fiat Panda and a Rover Montego were involved in a crash on the A38 in Somerset at 18:10 on Tuesday 2 December 1997. An 83-year-old male passenger in the Fiat Panda was killed and three other people were slightly injured.

It happened after dark under street lighting in fine weather on a dry single carriageway with a 60 mph limit, at a T or staggered junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
2 Dec 1997
Tuesday, 18:10
Vehicles
2
Fiat Panda and Rover Montego
Casualties
4
1 killed, 3 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.97038, longitude -3.21621, in the TA21 postcode district. The location was in the former Somerset West and Taunton district.

Map of where the crash happened in Somerset

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
1997520043793
Council area
Somerset
Police force
Avon and Somerset

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
38
Road type
Single carriageway
Speed limit
60 mph
Urban or rural
Rural
Trunk road
Non-trunk road

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, street lights lit
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 1 March 1993.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Fiat Panda

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    First point of impact
    Nearside
    Driver sex
    Female
    Driver age
    76 years
    Engine capacity
    999 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    3 years

  • Vehicle 2: Rover Montego

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    41 years
    Engine capacity
    1,994 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Diesel
    Vehicle age
    7 years

Casualties (4)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Fatal

    Male, aged 83, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Fiat Panda)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 76, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Fiat Panda)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 38, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Rover Montego)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 71, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Rover Montego)

    Car passenger
    Rear 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 1997520043793 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 1997.