Family of pensioner killed in road tragedy back our A19 safety campaign

Sonia Rose died following a crash on a stretch of the road in Northallerton in September 2016.

The 83-year-old former teacher, who lived in Thirsk in North Yorkshire, was fatally injured after a van veered from the opposite side of the dual carriageway into her path.

At an inquest into Mrs Rose’s death coroner Michael Oakley said that drivers using gaps on the busy road were risking lives.

Mrs Rose’s family have now set up a petition to improve safety on the A19 and today backed our Safe A19 campaign, which demands the Government holds an inquiry into safety on the road.

Last year alone, there were more than 70 people injured as a result of crashes on the stretch between Wolviston and Boldon alone.

Mrs Rose’s daughter Katy, who has said she and fellow campaigners hope to meet with transport secretary Chris Grayling in the new year, said: “The more I have looked in to this the angrier I become for the people of the North East.

“The figures I’ve seen reveal for transport funding show that London gets £1,500 per head more than the North East.

“We are at the bottom of the pile.

“The A19 is a vital link to cities that desperately need more industry, but, anyone setting up there is put off due to the bad road infrastructure.

“They would also have to pay out themselves for any infrastructure around the site which is no encouragement.”

Katy added: “I get the feeling that the North East has been so badly treated in the past decades that people have lost their fight and just shrug their shoulders and accept this as “their lot”.

“People have maybe lost faith.

“But we really need to change this.

“It is so very wrong - the way we have been dismissed by successive governments for decades.

“We shouldn’t have to wait for lives to be lost, like with my mum, for something to change.”

Our campaign follows a debate launched after Easington MP Grahame Morris spoke about a lack of action over the dangerous section of road.

He plans to press for more answers in Parliament and has already questioned Transport Minister John Hayes, with queries also put to Home Office minister John Hurd, Minister of State for the Home Office.

Mr Hayes said Highways England regularly undertakes safety studies on the A19, looking at accident clusters and common factors.

Our petition can be signed at www.change.org/p/department-for-transport-safe-a19-a-call-for-an-inquiry-into-safety-on-the-dual-carriageway-through-the-north-east.

Katy and her family’s petition can be seen at www.change.org/p/savelivesa19?recruiter=70387694&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition