Police probe late-night death crash

Sep 23 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

POLICE investigations were continuing yesterday into the circumstances surrounding a weekend road smash in a Northumberland village which claimed the life of a car driver.

Northumbria Police yesterday named the man who was killed in the accident, in West Terrace, Stakeford, near Bedlington, as Dale Kindley, 44, who came from Ashington.

He was trapped in the wreckage of his Subaru and died in hospital following the five-vehicle collision which happened just after 3am on Sunday morning.

Mr Kindley’s car was involved in a collision with a BMW and a Ford Mondeo taxi, and two vehicles parked at the side of the road were also hit.

The accident happened on a long, straight stretch of the A1147 road between Stakeford and Bomarsund, which residents say is plagued by high-speed driving. The noise of the impact and the arrival of the emergency services woke a number of residents who were in bed at the time.

Two fire crews used specialist cutting gear to free Mr Kindley from his car, but he died at Wansbeck General Hospital in Ashington.

The driver of the BMW car left the scene of the smash but was later arrested by police. Yesterday he had been released on bail without charge.

The driver of the taxi was also taken to Wansbeck General and allowed home after treatment. The A1147 was closed for six hours. Yesterday a bouquet of flowers had been fixed to a lamp post next to where the accident happened. A Northumbria Police spokesman said investigations were still at an early stage, and it was too soon to say what had led to the accident. The stretch of the A1147 where it happened has a 30mph speed limit and there is a speed camera and warning signs in place.

Yesterday one resident, who asked not to be named, said: “Cars are always flying along this road and no one is surprised this has happened. It was about 3am when it happened and everyone is wondering what was going on at that time of the night.”

Alan Scott, who lives in West Terrace, said: “I have said for a while there would be an accident along here because of the speed vehicles travel, and it has come true. My wife woke me up after she heard a noise and saw the fire engines arrive.

“There was glass spread along the road for about 100 yards, the Subaru had been hit in the middle and was badly damaged and the BMW had been abandoned a bit further along the road. The fire brigade took the roof off the Subaru and a couple of parked cars had obviously been hit.

“Judging by the damage caused to the Subaru, there was clearly high speed involved in the accident.”