Safety boost after second person dies at A5 junction
But residents voice fears over ‘cheapest possible improvements’
SAFETY improvements are to be made to a busy stretch of road which has seen a series of crashes in recent months, including two fatalities in the past seven weeks.
In the latest tragedy, a man in his 80s died when his Seat Leon crashed on the stretch of the A5, near Hinckley, on Monday December 9.
The crash, involving a Vauxhall Astra, was on the northbound A5, near the High Cross and Fosse Way junctions.
Other drivers tried to help the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A woman in her 30s, in the Astra, was taken to University Hospital of Coventry with minor injuries and has since been discharged.
The road was closed between the Magna Park roundabout, near Lutterworth and the M69, near Hinckley, for about five hours after the collision at 1.30pm.
On October 22, 81-year-old Rona Caley died as she tried to cross the same junction in her car. Her son, Andy, 57, has called for more to be done to improve road safety.
People living in the area off the A5 between Lutterworth and the M69 have been campaigning for safety improvements after the series of collisions at the High Cross, Smockington Hollow and Woodway Lane junctions with the busy trunk road.
The Highways Agency has announced a series of improvements next year, including new junction warning signs and the dualling of 400 to 500 metres of the A5 in the area.
Other measures will include resurfacing, replacing road markings, road studs, coloured surface patches and anti-skid surfacing.
Helen Saunders, of Claybrooke Magna, just off the A5, has started a petition, with just under 2,000 signatures, calling for safety improvements.
She said: “This section of the A5 has always been a blackspot for serious accidents, but in recent months has become increasingly treacherous.”
Responding to Highway England’s announced improvements, she added: “They seem to be predictably the cheapest-possible improvements, with absolutely no enforcement imposed to reduce the speed of motorists.”
Fellow Claybrooke Magna resident Nicholas Jenkins said: “There have been six accidents at Smockington Hollow/High Cross since the death (in October) that we locals are aware of.
“I’m not sure the works to be carried out in 2020 will solve the problems, but I hope I’m wrong.”
A Highways England spokesman said: “Safety is the number one priority for Highways England and we take the concerns of motorists and residents seriously.” Inquiries are continuing into the latest fatal crash.
Detective Constable Pete Davies said: “Anyone who wit