Darwen shop owner on Bolton Road junction safety after death

A man in his 70s died after being in collision with an HGV in the A666 Bolton Road going through the town on Monday (December 9) shortly before 10.50am. Many people left online comments saying their thoughts were with the man's family and friends, especially with the tragic death coming in the lead-up to Christmas. Lancashire Police said the man died after the HGV was "in a collision with a pedestrian in the carriageway."

The junction on Bolton Road (Image: NQ) Steves Bates, who runs the No 1 Coffee Shop in Bolton Road, said the shop was not open yesterday at the time of the incident so he did not see what happened, but that it was a dangerous junction. He said: "I think the main issue is that when people are heading up Bolton Road, if they've come through the lights and the lights change, there's no indication on that side of the crossing the driver has come through for them to stop.

"So the light will go green for the pedestrian to start to cross, but there's nothing indicating to the driver that they need to stop because someone's about to cross." Indeed, as we spoke and looked outside to the junction, one car that was trying to get through the traffic went through the lights while the pedestrian light was green, but they would not have been able to see that and there was no other light telling them to stop. Steve continued: "It's a light issue.

There needs to be a red light on that side of the crossing as well. "We see it on a number of occasions, people start to cross with traffic still going through. "It's not necessarily the fault of the driver and it's not the fault of the pedestrian, it's just the fact that there's no indication to the driver coming through that they need to stop."

Emergency services were in attendance throughout the day dealing with the incident, with police, ambulance, and fire crews all scrambled to the scene. An air ambulance was also seen landing at the nearby Darwen Aldridge Community Academy. The air ambulance landing at Darwen Aldridge Community Academy (Image: Joanne Crompton)

The man, who has not yet been named locally or by police, was pronounced dead at the scene. A police spokesperson said at the time of the incident: "We are appealing for witnesses and footage after a pedestrian very sadly died following a collision in Darwen. "Our officers were called at 10.47am today (9th December) to the A666 Bolton Road, to a report of a collision.

"They found that a DAF HGV had been in collision with a pedestrian in the carriageway. "Very sadly, the pedestrian - a 70-year-old man - was pronounced dead at the scene. "Our thoughts at this very sad time are with the man's family and loved ones. and they are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers."

Officers are appealing for witnesses to the collision and for anyone who has dashcam footage from the area around the time it happened to get in touch with police.

Anyone who can help is asked to contact 101, quoting log 0367 of December 9, or email the Serious Collision Investigation Unit at [email protected].

References

1. ^ Darwen: Pedestrian dies after being hit by lorry on A666 (www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk)