It happened on the A56 Accrington Easterly Bypass at shortly before 8pm on Thursday (Oct 13th) when a Toyota CH-R travelling north approached the roundabout at J8 when it was struck from behind by a Mercedes C220 driving in the same direction. Both vehicles ended up on the grass with the Toyota landing on its roof. The passenger of the Toyota, a woman in her 30s from Nelson, suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital but sadly died from her injuries. The driver of the Toyota, a man in his 40s from Nelson, suffered more minor injuries. The driver of the Mercedes, a man in his 50s from Manchester, was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He has since been released under investigation. Sgt Craig Booth, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Sadly, a woman has died as a result of this collision and our thoughts are with her family at this very distressing time. A man has since been arrested but enquiries are very much ongoing, and I would appeal for any witnesses who have not yet spoken to police, or anyone who may have dashcam footage, to get in touch with us.” Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting log 1183 of October 13th.
