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CrashStats

Fatal A377 crash in North Devon on 5 December 1998 at 17:40 involving a Ford Escort

A Ford Escort, a Rover 200 Series and a Ford Sierra were involved in a crash on the A377 in North Devon at 17:40 on Saturday 5 December 1998. The 17-year-old male driver of the Ford Escort was killed, a 25-year-old male passenger in the Rover 200 Series was seriously injured and the 24-year-old male driver of the Rover 200 Series was 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
5 Dec 1998
Saturday, 17:40
Vehicles
3
Ford Escort and 2 others
Casualties
3
1 killed, 1 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.0289, longitude -4.03774, in the EX31 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in North Devon

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
199850C217388
Council area
North Devon
Police force
Devon and Cornwall
Highway authority
Devon

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
377
Road type
Single carriageway
Speed limit
60 mph
Urban or rural
Rural
Trunk road
Non-trunk road

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, 10 metres away, was a serious injury crash on 25 April 1983.

Vehicles involved (3)

  • Vehicle 1: Ford Escort

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    Skidding and overturning
    Overturned
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside and rebounded
    Hit object off carriageway
    Other permanent object
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    17 years
    Engine capacity
    1,608 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Diesel
    Vehicle age
    11 years

  • Vehicle 2: Rover 200 Series

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South East
    Travelling to
    North West
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    24 years
    Engine capacity
    1,796 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    0 years

  • Vehicle 3: Ford Sierra

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South East
    Travelling to
    North West
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    27 years
    Engine capacity
    1,993 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    10 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Fatal

    Male, aged 17, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Ford Escort)

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 24, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Rover 200 Series)

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 25, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Rover 200 Series)

    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 199850C217388 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the North Devon road accident statistics for 1998.