Police appeal for witnesses after two pedestrians struck by van in Darlington

6:30pm Tuesday 19th March 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Hannah Bryan, Reporter (Darlington)

Police at the scene of major road accident in Darlington Police at the scene of major road accident in Darlington

POLICE are appealing for witnesses to a crash in which a van collided with two pedestrians, leaving them with serious injuries.

Paramedics and police were called to the incident which happened on North Road, in Darlington, directly outside Morrisons supermarket at about 9.45am today (Tuesday, March 19).

A white Vauxhall Combo Crew Van collided with two pedestrians, leaving a 58-year-old man with a suspected fractured skull and cuts, and a 44-year-old woman with broken ribs and numerous cuts.

They were taken to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, where they are being treated.

A Durham Police spokeswoman said: “Although both are described as having serious injuries, neither of them is believed to have life-threatening ones at this time.”

The driver of the van was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, but has since been released.

It is thought the white van may have left the road and run on to the pavement.

Police closed the road from the new junction with Albert Road and Whessoe Road up to Denmark Street. It is not thought the accident was caused by the new junction.

A Durham Police spokeswoman said the road was closed for about three hours to allow for police and other emergency services to carry out their initial investigations.

Police are appealing for any witnesses to the incident to call the non-emergency 101 number.

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Comments(45)

MrBrown says...
11:08am Tue 19 Mar 13

That whole stretch of North Road has become an absolute liability since the creation of the new junction, whats it been now, 3 collisions and now this? who is held to task for this? its totally unacceptable. These pedestrians who have been hit through no fault of their own have had their and their loved ones lives changed irrevocably by this road.

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is thesunabovetheyardarm says...
11:20am Tue 19 Mar 13

This incident is yards away from the 'new junction', and which probably has absolutely no bearing on this dreadful accident. Wait until the facts are established before jumping to conclusions.

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sam7122 says...
11:27am Tue 19 Mar 13

its all a bit daft now round there now.. they have 2 lanes at the lights going forward that merge in to 1 randomly... its just encouraging people to race at the lights and try to beat the other lane.. not to mention the bus lane and how narrow its made this side

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olliegregg says...
12:00pm Tue 19 Mar 13

I don't think anyone is jumping to conclusions , its a joke up there , council wasting more and more money , making things worse , I drive up there every night , and idiotic fools always try to have a drag race with you and then they cut back in just near morrsions and the scene of this awful accident , I passed the asscident on my way to drop off my gf at work and a lady lying on the floor looked like she had been thrown for miles by the collision with the white van , its like a racing circuit round there and this was always going to happen sooner or later I just hope the 2 people involved recover .

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alowis94 says...
12:03pm Tue 19 Mar 13

I have to say, looking at the where the van has landed, it doesnt look to me like its been to do with the new lights... the lanes merge further back than where he has finished, hes probably been driving to fast in the wet conditions, maybe hit something slippy and gone off the road. either that or swerved to avoid something oncoming

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hibbos says...
12:07pm Tue 19 Mar 13

it has nothing to do with new junction.the traffic is alot better it comes down to what it always comes down to bad drivers and people who dont read road markings and speeding general bad driving

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Oh Happy Days says...
12:12pm Tue 19 Mar 13

What's so difficult about the new junction? I use it every day, the only problem here is the time it take for some drivers to get into gear before the lights change.
Question: Can you turn onto Whessoe road at B & Q? If not why is'nt it blocked so drivers cannot turn onto it from North Road

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Oh Happy Days says...
12:15pm Tue 19 Mar 13

olliegregg wrote:
I don't think anyone is jumping to conclusions , its a joke up there , council wasting more and more money , making things worse , I drive up there every night , and idiotic fools always try to have a drag race with you and then they cut back in just near morrsions and the scene of this awful accident , I passed the asscident on my way to drop off my gf at work and a lady lying on the floor looked like she had been thrown for miles by the collision with the white van , its like a racing circuit round there and this was always going to happen sooner or later I just hope the 2 people involved recover .
So it's not the road, it's not the council (this time anyway) IT'S THE DRIVERS!

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hibbos says...
12:30pm Tue 19 Mar 13

happy days you can turn into whessoe road right but not at lights on bonomi way there is a no right marking there bit like the one on thompson street what has been there for at least 15 years but numptys still turn right there holding traffic up

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Topcat28 says...
12:32pm Tue 19 Mar 13

I'd have to say regardless of the junction, lights etc drivers have to be accountable. I imagine we have all driven on some truly awful roads in the past however its how your drive and assess the risks both on and off the road. That's not to say its the persons fault driving the vehicle I am just generalizing.

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helen155 says...
1:30pm Tue 19 Mar 13

I totally agree with Sam7122. It's got nothing to do with the new lights, that's further down. However, the council needs to seriously look at that stretch of road between whessoe road and denmark street. Two lanes as you go through lights but as soon as you go through the lights it quickly (very quickly) reduces down to one lane. Cars can easily drive up either side of you at speed as the lights change. No-one knows yet what happened but I have thought for a long time the council have got this one wrong!

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Dummy Half says...
1:34pm Tue 19 Mar 13

I seem to remember not long ago a van coming off at the same place and destroying the bus stop outside morrissons???

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Blankface says...
2:06pm Tue 19 Mar 13

The van has come to rest after a pedestrian crossing. Was the driver speeding up and the lights changed to red and the pedestrians started to cross or did the pedestrians cross when lights was still on green? Every one jumping to conclusions again I see.

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Kelly15 says...
2:16pm Tue 19 Mar 13

This accident may have nothing to do with the new lights but there is definitely an issue here. Two lanes that merge immediately into 1 causes many problems. I drive down there on a daily basis and there is nothing marked on the road or a sign to direct, and no matter what your driving experience or ability you are supposed to make a decision on which lane to take. Either way when the lights turn green someone has to give in and allow the other car to move in front. It is a dangerous area of the road and I have witnessed several near misses myself. Not everyone is sensible enough or considerate enough to move over.

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The Love Slug says...
2:17pm Tue 19 Mar 13

either way, that stretch of road AFTER the supposed improvements, seems to be an accident hotspot still.

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giggitty says...
3:00pm Tue 19 Mar 13

MrBrown wrote:
That whole stretch of North Road has become an absolute liability since the creation of the new junction, whats it been now, 3 collisions and now this? who is held to task for this? its totally unacceptable. These pedestrians who have been hit through no fault of their own have had their and their loved ones lives changed irrevocably by this road.
Complete and utter tripe!

Go on, amaze me. Just how the F has the new junction got anything to with this!? The junction is over 250 meters away!

Who's going to held to task over this you ask!?

Errrr......... Could it be the driver, you numpty!

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giggitty says...
3:22pm Tue 19 Mar 13

Kelly15 wrote:
This accident may have nothing to do with the new lights but there is definitely an issue here. Two lanes that merge immediately into 1 causes many problems. I drive down there on a daily basis and there is nothing marked on the road or a sign to direct, and no matter what your driving experience or ability you are supposed to make a decision on which lane to take. Either way when the lights turn green someone has to give in and allow the other car to move in front. It is a dangerous area of the road and I have witnessed several near misses myself. Not everyone is sensible enough or considerate enough to move over.
There are thousands of locations throughout the country where lanes merge.

What's so problematic about "someone" giving way? (You’ll know who that someone is of you know the Highway Code).

I've got a good idea. Why don’t we all get together and march on down to London in protest over lanes merges. Yeah......... that’ll sort the country out!

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Kelly15 says...
3:40pm Tue 19 Mar 13

giggitty wrote:
Kelly15 wrote:
This accident may have nothing to do with the new lights but there is definitely an issue here. Two lanes that merge immediately into 1 causes many problems. I drive down there on a daily basis and there is nothing marked on the road or a sign to direct, and no matter what your driving experience or ability you are supposed to make a decision on which lane to take. Either way when the lights turn green someone has to give in and allow the other car to move in front. It is a dangerous area of the road and I have witnessed several near misses myself. Not everyone is sensible enough or considerate enough to move over.
There are thousands of locations throughout the country where lanes merge.

What's so problematic about "someone" giving way? (You’ll know who that someone is of you know the Highway Code).

I've got a good idea. Why don’t we all get together and march on down to London in protest over lanes merges. Yeah......... that’ll sort the country out!
Because some people who are not as good a driver as myself seem to think that this middle lane is for them to over take. Great if the car you are over taking is slow off the mark or is waiting to get into the left hand slip road but more often than not it is used as a lane to try and race the waiting car.

I agree there is other roads that merge but I haven come across one that do so immediately after the lights. And I'm not taking about sorting the country out I was just agreeing with previous comments that part of the new layout is confusing, you don't have to be patronising in order to present your own opinions.

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giggitty says...
4:05pm Tue 19 Mar 13

Ok, i agree i was a tad patronising, please accept my apologies.

I am merely stating that it has nothing at all to do with the road.
It’s the road users, as you've said yourself. You (like me) are aware of the retards that cut you up. So what do you do? I let them get on with it! Big deal, I’ll probably pass them a mile up the road when they’re wrapped around a tree!

A longer merge would probably be beneficial, but if it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t fit.

Seriously, what would you like to see done there?

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MrBrown says...
4:11pm Tue 19 Mar 13

So, making a comment gets you insulted around here does it. That'll teach me to voice my outrage at 2 people going about their day to day routine having their lives ruined, which irrelevant of whether the roads/driver or a combination of both caused it is the story here.

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Spy Boy says...
6:57pm Tue 19 Mar 13

When the new junction was installed there was also a new bus lane added going south. This means that there is only one northbound lane. This has caused all sorts of problems. It's a major accident black spot these days. I've given up counting the near misses I've had in the area since it was re-marked. That bus lane is stupid at 150 yards on the narrowest part of the road. Is this one of David Lyonette's schemes ? He needs to change it before someone is killed outright.

People driving north keep stopping in the northbound lane and those behind just pull out into oncoming traffic. A bus did this to me yesterday morning and I was forced into the bus lane which was luckily empty at the time. I've been forced off the road at this point loads of times since the priorities have changed. If I get hit I will sue the council for every penny. Be warned. This is your problem. You know about it. Your councillors know about it, so fix it.

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giggitty says...
11:05pm Tue 19 Mar 13

MrBrown wrote:
So, making a comment gets you insulted around here does it. That'll teach me to voice my outrage at 2 people going about their day to day routine having their lives ruined, which irrelevant of whether the roads/driver or a combination of both caused it is the story here.
Yes it does, but only when you talk cr4p!

You're clearly blaming "the new junction" when it has absolutely nothing at all to do with this accident! I repeat..............
. its over 250 meters away!

There's nothing wrong with expressing your outrage about two innocents having their lives ruined.

But you're running around like a headless chicken asking who's to blame? who's to blame? Who’s to blame? There is only one person to blame for this accident and he/she drives a white van!

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hemmi1 says...
11:08pm Tue 19 Mar 13

if darlington council come upp with a plan its alway the most expensive elaborate and daftest idea cant wait to see what they have in store for stonebridge

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giggitty says...
11:36pm Tue 19 Mar 13

hemmi1 wrote:
if darlington council come upp with a plan its alway the most expensive elaborate and daftest idea cant wait to see what they have in store for stonebridge
I dont know anything about it, but its bound to be Traffic lights.

But as long as there's no merging it'll be ok!

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glyn says...
8:53am Wed 20 Mar 13

I ve said before and I will say again, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BAD ROAD, JUST BAD DRIVERS.

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Kilma- says...
9:54am Wed 20 Mar 13

To say the new junction causes accidents is moronic.

Also the scene of this incident is a significant distance away from the junction.

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Oh Happy Days says...
3:56pm Wed 20 Mar 13

Spy Boy wrote:
When the new junction was installed there was also a new bus lane added going south. This means that there is only one northbound lane. This has caused all sorts of problems. It's a major accident black spot these days. I've given up counting the near misses I've had in the area since it was re-marked. That bus lane is stupid at 150 yards on the narrowest part of the road. Is this one of David Lyonette's schemes ? He needs to change it before someone is killed outright. People driving north keep stopping in the northbound lane and those behind just pull out into oncoming traffic. A bus did this to me yesterday morning and I was forced into the bus lane which was luckily empty at the time. I've been forced off the road at this point loads of times since the priorities have changed. If I get hit I will sue the council for every penny. Be warned. This is your problem. You know about it. Your councillors know about it, so fix it.
I use this section of the road everyday and I've never experienced any of this, however I do agree our road systems are not big enough or designed to accomodate a bus lane

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mrsbhs says...
5:06pm Wed 20 Mar 13

It is amusing to read all the comments blaming this junction especially when it is in excess of a 100 yards away and the part where the accident was hasn’t changed...I cant understand those of you saying it is not clearly marked either. There is plenty of space to merge (from the left lane as is indicated by GIANT ARROWS) prior to the bus stops,especially as there is only a small section of two lanes at the lights before; strangely added to reduce the congestion (which it has). I’m also at a loss as to how you people seem to have so many "near misses"; I drive this junction several times a day and am yet to even see a near miss. If you drive it so often you should know all this. I’m not defending the van driver here as to land where they did the majority of the blame can only be with them for speeding but perhaps someone (as I do see daily) stepped out to cross the road without waiting for the lights, or not even at the lights at all.

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FatBadge says...
9:00pm Wed 20 Mar 13

Why not blame the clock on the wall? You people (I'm being generic, as it's not all of you) Seem to blame everything from the road to the driver to the council. Why not wait for the inquiry to be completed before passing judgement. You (generic again, I'm sorry) say the driver MUST have been speeding, why must he? If you know the highway code (and ALL you drivers should) the stopping distance from 30 mph is 23 metres (9thinking, 14 braking) or about 6 car lengths. I'm not sure but I've never known the path to be that wide there!
Q. How do we know what happened?
A. wait for the inquiry to make it findings before trying to jump on the blame bandwagon.
Let's just hope the two people recovery!

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johnny_p says...
12:12am Thu 21 Mar 13

I blame the Tories. It must be George Osborne's fault. Or David Cameron. When we had Labour in power there were no accidents at junctions, we had 100% employment, high wages, low inflation, petrol was cheap, the sun was shining and girls were smiling with ribbons in their hair. Aaaaah the good ol' days of Nu Labour.........

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Craz3yk says...
8:09pm Thu 21 Mar 13

Two lanes then one then what do you know it's a bus stop back to one lane van up ye arse and bus take in half the road if you want ill design the roads in darlo I've played the sims before cant be that hard

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Annoyed family says...
8:18pm Thu 21 Mar 13

It would appear the driver had a fit at the wheel and it was my uncle who was hit so maybe all stop arguing and blaming and put it down to a very bad accident!!!

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Lilly12321 says...
8:27am Fri 22 Mar 13

Annoyed family wrote:
It would appear the driver had a fit at the wheel and it was my uncle who was hit so maybe all stop arguing and blaming and put it down to a very bad accident!!!
He didn't have a fit at the wheel, he was using his phone.

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Oh Happy Days says...
11:21am Fri 22 Mar 13

mrsbhs wrote:
It is amusing to read all the comments blaming this junction especially when it is in excess of a 100 yards away and the part where the accident was hasn’t changed...I cant understand those of you saying it is not clearly marked either. There is plenty of space to merge (from the left lane as is indicated by GIANT ARROWS) prior to the bus stops,especially as there is only a small section of two lanes at the lights before; strangely added to reduce the congestion (which it has). I’m also at a loss as to how you people seem to have so many "near misses"; I drive this junction several times a day and am yet to even see a near miss. If you drive it so often you should know all this. I’m not defending the van driver here as to land where they did the majority of the blame can only be with them for speeding but perhaps someone (as I do see daily) stepped out to cross the road without waiting for the lights, or not even at the lights at all.
I totally agree with you, I also use this section of the road daily and at different times of the day (both rush hour and not) and as you have not seen any near misses or accidents.I would add though I have seen drivers (usually younger drivers) racing to reach the merge point of the road first but usually one car gives up before the other.

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Quaker79 says...
4:57pm Fri 22 Mar 13

Lilly12321, do you know that for a fact? If so, have you told the police about it?

As per the article, they were appealing for witnesses.

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Llld13 says...
9:42pm Fri 22 Mar 13

Oh Happy Days wrote:
mrsbhs wrote:
It is amusing to read all the comments blaming this junction especially when it is in excess of a 100 yards away and the part where the accident was hasn’t changed...I cant understand those of you saying it is not clearly marked either. There is plenty of space to merge (from the left lane as is indicated by GIANT ARROWS) prior to the bus stops,especially as there is only a small section of two lanes at the lights before; strangely added to reduce the congestion (which it has). I’m also at a loss as to how you people seem to have so many "near misses"; I drive this junction several times a day and am yet to even see a near miss. If you drive it so often you should know all this. I’m not defending the van driver here as to land where they did the majority of the blame can only be with them for speeding but perhaps someone (as I do see daily) stepped out to cross the road without waiting for the lights, or not even at the lights at all.
I totally agree with you, I also use this section of the road daily and at different times of the day (both rush hour and not) and as you have not seen any near misses or accidents.I would add though I have seen drivers (usually younger drivers) racing to reach the merge point of the road first but usually one car gives up before the other.
I think you should get your facts right before quoting anything at all... One of the pedestrians that got hit by the van is my friend and no one stepped out out into road.... The van mounted the curb.

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Llld13 says...
9:44pm Fri 22 Mar 13

Think you should all get your facts right. One of the pedestrians that got hit was my friend...... Stop blaming the roads and the council. The van mounted the curb. It was clearly the drivers fault. Should have been god dam concentrating.

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mrsbhs says...
10:14pm Fri 22 Mar 13

Llld13 wrote:
Oh Happy Days wrote:
mrsbhs wrote:
It is amusing to read all the comments blaming this junction especially when it is in excess of a 100 yards away and the part where the accident was hasn’t changed...I cant understand those of you saying it is not clearly marked either. There is plenty of space to merge (from the left lane as is indicated by GIANT ARROWS) prior to the bus stops,especially as there is only a small section of two lanes at the lights before; strangely added to reduce the congestion (which it has). I’m also at a loss as to how you people seem to have so many "near misses"; I drive this junction several times a day and am yet to even see a near miss. If you drive it so often you should know all this. I’m not defending the van driver here as to land where they did the majority of the blame can only be with them for speeding but perhaps someone (as I do see daily) stepped out to cross the road without waiting for the lights, or not even at the lights at all.
I totally agree with you, I also use this section of the road daily and at different times of the day (both rush hour and not) and as you have not seen any near misses or accidents.I would add though I have seen drivers (usually younger drivers) racing to reach the merge point of the road first but usually one car gives up before the other.
I think you should get your facts right before quoting anything at all... One of the pedestrians that got hit by the van is my friend and no one stepped out out into road.... The van mounted the curb.
My comment was merely stating as a generalisation the people step onto the road to cross, I did not state this as fact! As most comments on here it was just that "a comment, opinion". Therefore "getting my facts right" would include me stating facts... Which was not done.

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Annoyed family says...
11:10pm Fri 22 Mar 13

Quaker79 wrote:
Lilly12321, do you know that for a fact? If so, have you told the police about it?

As per the article, they were appealing for witnesses.
Agreed. If this was a fact it makes all the difference but as far as I know from my family who it involves the poor bloke suffered a fit and now has to live with what he's done. And if I'm wrong, that's when I'll choose to hate him!!! But not before!!

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hemmi1 says...
1:15pm Sun 24 Mar 13

well spoken annoyed family

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Lilly12321 says...
10:35pm Sun 24 Mar 13

Annoyed family wrote:
Quaker79 wrote:
Lilly12321, do you know that for a fact? If so, have you told the police about it?

As per the article, they were appealing for witnesses.
Agreed. If this was a fact it makes all the difference but as far as I know from my family who it involves the poor bloke suffered a fit and now has to live with what he's done. And if I'm wrong, that's when I'll choose to hate him!!! But not before!!
Yes I have completed a statement and told them everything I know.

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Annoyed family says...
9:39am Mon 25 Mar 13

Thank you x

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The Love Slug says...
11:38am Thu 4 Apr 13

Llld13 wrote:
Think you should all get your facts right. One of the pedestrians that got hit was my friend...... Stop blaming the roads and the council. The van mounted the curb. It was clearly the drivers fault. Should have been god dam concentrating.
he had a fit you idiot. keep your ill informed mouth shut.

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ericka says...
8:14am Wed 10 Apr 13

Lilly12321 wrote:
Annoyed family wrote:
Quaker79 wrote:
Lilly12321, do you know that for a fact? If so, have you told the police about it?

As per the article, they were appealing for witnesses.
Agreed. If this was a fact it makes all the difference but as far as I know from my family who it involves the poor bloke suffered a fit and now has to live with what he's done. And if I'm wrong, that's when I'll choose to hate him!!! But not before!!
Yes I have completed a statement and told them everything I know.
It was NOT the drivers fault, he was NOT on his phone as has been proven despite some idiot suggesting he was and as the families are aware he had a fit at the wheel. I feel for all involved as it was a terrible accident. How dare people jump to conclusions without knowing the facts.

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Annoyed family says...
8:51am Wed 10 Apr 13

Agreed. This is why I took the attitude to not believe any of it. My uncle will be ok. It's gonna take a while but he'll get there!!

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