Speed limit to be cut on notorious road A630

THE 60mph speed limit on a notorious stretch of road where five teenagers died in a horror crash last year will be slashed.

Doncaster Council confirmed that it would be cutting the limit on the A630 at Conisbrough where friends Bartosz Bortniczak (18), Blake Cairns (16), Arpad Kore (18), Jordanna Goodwin (16) and Megan Storey (16) were killed last November.

The road has been the scene of at least seven serious accidents since 1998, with 11 people killed.

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After the teenagers’ death last year, Don Valley MP Caroline Flint demanded an investigation into the safety of the road, saying: “We will be demanding an immediate review of safety on this road after this appalling loss of life.”

Last month, the Doncaster Coroner, Ms Nicola Mundy, said she would write to the council and request a reduction in the speed limit.

Doncaster Council’s director of regeneration and environment, Peter Dale, this week confirmed the change, although he did not say what the new limit would be.

“Following the tragic incident in Conisbrough last year, we made it clear that we would wait for the coroner’s findings before finalising our own review of this stretch of road and considering appropriate action,” Mr Dale said.

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“The coroner’s views backed up our own investigations which showed that while the road itself is not deemed dangerous anything we can do to encourage careful driving and reducing speed could help prevent further incidents.

“We will be following recommendations and reducing the speed limit as soon as possible after the necessary legal steps are completed.”

The catalogue of accidents on the same short stretch of the A630 is as follows:

April 1998:

Seven people treated in hospital after a VW Transporter containing five people collided with two on-coming cars on Sheffield Road, with two men seriously hurt and five suffering bruising and shock.

April 2005:

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A woman was left trapped in her car after it overturned after hitting a lamppost and a wall and flipped onto its roof, slicing the top off. The woman was hurt but her injuries were not life-threatening.

November 2007:

Rebaz Abdullah Said (29), of Balby, died after his car careered off Sheffield Road, Conisbrough and crashed into a wall before bursting into flames.

February 2011:

Unlicensed driver Michael Gallagher (16), Thomas Hughes (15) and Antonia Browne (14), from Warmsworth, Bessacarr, and Balby respectively, died after a crash at the when their car ploughed into a tree near the landmark water tower at 4.30am and was torn in two.

November 2012:

Motor-cyclist Stephen Shephard (45), of Conisbrough, died after being involved in a collision with a car, suffering fatal head and chest injuries after coming off his motor-cycle.

December 2012:

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Former teacher Ralph Bentham (93) died after sustaining a rib fracture when his car collided with a bus and crashed into a wall on the A630. He died four days later in Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

November 2014: Bartosz Bortniczak (18), Blake Cairns (16), Arpad Kore (18), Jordanna Goodwin (16) and Megan Storey (16) are killed when the Toyota Corolla being driven by Bartosz, nicknamed Bartek, crashed. The coroner ruled out the suggestion the car may have been racing and put the crash down to “a mistake, for which they paid a high price”.