Double fatal smash brings back harrowing memories of 2007 lorry …
On Saturday, a man and woman in their 70s died after their vehicle crashed off a bridge that carries the A629 Skipton[1] bypass over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and Broughton Road.
The incident has parallels with a horrific crash in January 2007 in which a woman was killed when the lorry she was driving left the A629 Skipton bypass and landed in the Canal below.
The lorry being recovered from the canal in Skipton in 2007 (Image: .)
Christine Doran, 49, was on her way back to Stockport after making a delivery to Damart, Steeton, when she was caught in high winds on the A629 Skipton bypass.
Her lorry, which was empty, was buffeted across the carriageway and at one point its back wheels left the road.
It went through barriers and fell into the Leeds Liverpool Canal. Miss Doran, of Moston, Manchester, died at the scene of multiple injuries.
Recording an accidental verdict at the subsequent inquest, North Yorkshire[2] Coroner Geoff Fell said that the fact that the curtains on the lorry had been closed was a link to the cause of the accident.
The lorry ploughed through a safety barrier and plunged 30ft, landing upside down in a field and partly in the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.
One Skipton motorist, who did not wish to be named, said: “There’s no suggestion that the weather played a part this time, but it’s another tragedy where someone has died after a vehicle has fallen off the bypass bridge and landed in or near the canal.
“The town was shocked when the lorry driver died around 15 years ago and this latest incident has also caused a lot of upset. Thoughts go out to the family and friends of the two victims.”