Man dies in head-on crash horror (From This Is Lancashire)

Man dies in head-on crash horror

4:12pm Wednesday 21st June 2006

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A MAN was killed and two others seriously injured when a driver lost control of his car as it was being pursued by police.

The Ford Sierra Sapphire smashed into railings and a tree before hitting a lorry head on in Dicconson Lane, Westhoughton.

As the car burst into flames, nearby residents made desperate attempts to save the men by throwing buckets of water on to the fire.

One passenger was killed instantly and the driver and another passenger were seriously injured. The men are all thought to be in their 20s.

Fire crews cut the victims from the wreckage of the car. A fourth man had freed himself before emergency services arrived. He did not require hospital treatment.

Police had tried to stop the car for "routine checks" as it was being driven along Dicconson Lane at 12.30pm yesterday. But the driver did not pull over and officers started to follow the car.

It span out of control seconds later and crashed into the lorry.

Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene. The driver and another passenger were taken to hospital, one by air ambulance to Wythenshawe Hospital and another to the Royal Bolton Hospital. Their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

The driver of the lorry was taken to Wigan Royal Infirmary to be treated for shock.

Ellen Gregory, who lives close to the scene of the crash, said: "I heard the bang from our house and by the time we got outside there were people all round the car.

"One lad was out on the road and there was another man hanging from the back door."

Fire service spokesman Paul Duggan said: "We used cutting equipment to make space for our trauma technicians and paramedics to remove the casualties but we understand that one man died at the scene."

The crash has prompted fresh calls for traffic calming measures on the road, which has been the scene of a number of fatal accidents.

The matter is now being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

IPCC spokesman Ian Christon, said: "Our involvement is at a very early stage.

"Two investigators were sent to the scene and a detailed investigation will now take place to determine whether there will be any further action taken.

"A post-mortem examination will be carried out and we will be taking statements from all parties involved."

The route has already been the subject of road safety campaigns including Bolton Council's 2006/07 Highways Capital Programme which highlighted the need for maintenance of road safety, pedestrian and cycling facilities on the road, and the Drivesafe project in May, 2005, which took mobile speed cameras to the stretch of road in a bid to combat the high number of deaths and speed related injuries.

Local councillor Ian Hamilton said: "More work certainly needs to be done to make this road safer. This is the second major accident in a few years and if even one serious accident happens we should pull out all the stops to see what can be done to stop accidents from occurring in the future."

Westhoughton councillor David Wilkinson added: "There have been numerous near-collisions and crashes on this road. For almost a mile it's downhill, which makes it more dangerous but it's a bus route and an HGV route so it's very difficult to put traffic calming measures down."

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