Plea for road safety measures following fatal crash

RESIDENTS ARE calling for road safety measures where a grandmother was knocked down and killed as she walked her tenmonth-old baby granddaughter in a pram.

Neighbours claimed speed and volume of traffic are major problems on Church Avenue in Hosforth in Leeds, where a 66-year-old local woman died following a crash at about 3.30pm on Wednesday.

Police said a Volkswagen Tiguan was travelling north along Church Avenue – and had just passed the junction with Long Row outside the Brownlee Arms pub – when it failed to negotiate the bend and was involved in a collision with a woman pedestrian on the footpath.

She was given emergency treatment at the scene, but was pronounced dead a short time later. The baby girl suffered minor injuries and was taken to Leeds General Infirmary for treatment.

A dog which is thought to have been tied by its lead to the pram was injured and taken to a veterinary surgery for treatment.

Caroline O’Shaugnessy, 38, an accountant who has a ninemonth-old baby son and lives in Long Row, said: “People go too fast on that road and navigate the bend too fast.

“As a lady with a pram myself, it’s a massive worry. A neighbour called round on Wednesday night because she was worried I had been involved in the accident.

“I am planning to write to the MP and ask for traffic calming measures or a one-way system. Something needs to be done.”

Her neighbour Andy Sykes, 35, who teaches animation at the University of Leeds, said he had written to Pudsey MP Stuart Andrew in the past to raise concerns about the road.

Mr Sykes said: “It is a very busy road. My wife and I have written to Stuart Andrew asking for speed bumps to be installed. It is very difficult to cross safely, because of the volume and speed of the traffic.”

Police said the driver of the Tiguan, a 43-year-old man, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He was later released under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via the non-emergency number of 101.