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CrashStats

Fatal A39 crash in Somerset on 24 May 1998 at 22:42 involving a Ford Escort

A Ford Escort hit a pedestrian on the A39 in Somerset at 22:42 on Sunday 24 May 1998. The 28-year-old male driver and a 69-year-old female pedestrian were killed and two other people were seriously injured.

It happened after dark under street lighting in fine weather on a dry single carriageway with a 40 mph limit, at a T or staggered junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
24 May 1998
Sunday, 22:42
Vehicles
1
Ford Escort
Casualties
4
2 killed, 2 seriously injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.12343, longitude -2.77155, in the BA16 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
1998520055573
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
40 mph
Urban or rural
Urban
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
Pedestrian light crossing (pelican or puffin or toucan or similar)

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 12 May 1998.

Vehicles involved (1)

  • Vehicle 1: Ford Escort

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North East
    Travelling to
    West
    Lane or location
    Not on carriageway
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    Hit object in carriageway
    Kerb
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside and rebounded
    Hit object off carriageway
    Other permanent object
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    28 years
    Engine capacity
    1,597 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    12 years

Casualties (4)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 25, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Ford Escort)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 25, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Ford Escort)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Driver

    Fatal

    Male, aged 28, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Ford Escort)

  • Casualty 4: Pedestrian

    Fatal

    Female, aged 69, hit by vehicle 1 (Ford Escort)

    Pedestrian location
    On footway or verge
    Pedestrian movement
    Walking along in carriageway, back to traffic

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 1998520055573 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 1998.