UPDATED: Pensioner dies in A353 Weymouth crash (From Dorset Echo)

UPDATED: Pensioner dies in A353 Weymouth crash

6:07pm Wednesday 9th January 2013 in News

A PENSIONER has died in a crash near Weymouth.

The 75-year-old Weymouth man was killed in a single vehicle accident at Osmington Hill at around 5pm yesterday.

Police, ambulance and fire crews were called to the scene after receiving a report of the road traffic collision.

The man had been driving his red Ford Mondeo into Weymouth when the car left the road and went into a hedgerow.

Emergency services confirmed that the driver had died at the scene and next of kin had been informed.

The road was closed for several hours in both directions to officers to carry out forensic examinations.

Police are urging witnesses to come forward to help them with ongoing investigations into the cause of the incident.

Local residents have spoken of their shock at the tragic crash in Osmington.

Ben Cross, who works at Eweleaze Farm near the village, said he was shocked to hear of the tragedy.

He said: “I left work at about 5pm and came right through where it happened but there was nothing there.

“As I was cycling into Preston I saw all the police cars rushing the other way, so it must have happened a few minutes after I went through.

“It’s really sad, I can’t believe it.

“It gives me the shivers to think about it.

“There was another accident there just the other week and there have been quite a lot of crashes on that road.

“Another person was killed on the corner right by Northdown Farm, it’s quite a dangerous stretch.”

Police closed the road at the junction with Sutton Road in Preston to vehicles and pedestrians.

Motorists were queuing along Preston Road with residents trying to get back to their homes.

The road was also closed from the other side near to the Sunray pub at Osmington and at the Warmwell Roundabout.

John Palmer, who lives in Osmington, said he was saddened by the tragedy.

He said: “It’s really sad news that this man has been killed in the crash.

“I didn’t see or hear anything of the accident itself but I saw all the emergency services go past.

“There were a couple of ambulances, two fire engines and lots of police so I thought it must be something serious.“It’s really awful that someone has died.

“That road does have some sharp bends on it and if you hit a corner a bit fast or if the road is wet you can easily lose control.”

Chris Bratchell, owner of the White Horse Holiday Park, said: “We know a number of emergency service vehicle went up and the helicopter was overhead.

“It seemed like a serious incident because the road was closed and there were so many vehicles.

“It’s really sad and tragic that someone has been killed.

“I’m sorry to hear that this has happened and it’s obviously very sad.”

He added: “There haven’t been a lot of fatalities on this hill but a lot of people have been lucky to come away from crashes.

“The limit on this stretch is 60 and if you are doing that then you are pushing it.

“There have been a number of cars that have ended up in fields and that was people being lucky, unfortunately someone wasn’t lucky tonight.”

Call For Action Over Danger Blackspot

THERE have been a number of crashes on the A353 around Osmington in recent years including a fatal collision on White Horse Hill in 2007 which claimed the life of a motorcyclist.

People living nearby claim the road, in particularly White Horse Hill, is an accident blackspot.

There were a string of serious smashes in 2009 which led to Chris Bratchell, pictured right, of the White Horse Holiday Park calling for action to be taken to reduce the number of accidents on the road.

The Echo told in July of that year how passers-by saved the life of a biker who was flung into a field after crashing his bike on White Horse Hill. A month later a motorcyclist was airlifted to hospital after being seriously injured in a crash outside Eweleaze Farm.

There have been a number of other collisions since including in 2011 when a six-year-old boy and a woman were injured in a crash outside the turning to Northdown Holiday Farm on White Horse Hill.

Last year a woman was seriously injured when her car crashed off the road between Osmington and Poxwell and somersaulted down an embankment.