A woman has died following a crash on the A352.

Emergency services were called to the collision at Whitcombe near Dorchester at around 6.25am this morning. 

A red Honda Civic and a silver Peugeot 206 were involved in the collision.

The driver of the Honda, a man aged in his 40s from Dorchester, received serious injuries. The passenger, a 43-year-old woman from Dorchester, was taken to Dorset County Hospital with life-threatening injuries where she was pronounced dead.

Her family has been informed and the coroner notified.

The male driver of the Peugeot, who is from the Dorchester area, sustained chest, leg and arm injuries and was taken to Dorset County Hospital.

Road closures were put in place in both directions between the roundabout at the junction with the West Stafford bypass and Whitcombe.

The road was closed for nearly seven hours whilst emergency services dealt with the incident and collision investigators examined the scene.

Police Sergeant Fern Graham, of the traffic unit, said: “I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision, or saw the manner of driving of either vehicle prior to the collision, to please contact Dorset Police.

"I am also keen to hear from anyone who has a dash cam fitted in their vehicle that may hold vital evidence.

“I would like to thank motorists for their patience while the road closure was in place, which was essential to allow the emergency services to carry out an effective examination of the scene.”

Two fire crews from Dorchester attended to assist with the collision as both cars were smoking. A spokesman said they cut casualty free from a car.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk, via email at scit@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting incident number 16:52.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org