Dewsbury man appears in court over A1m crash death

Mary Graham, 68, died two days after being taken to hospital following the crash.

She was travelling in a Toyota Auris when she was involved in a crash with a Ford Transit van on the evening of August 2.

She was taken to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, but sadly passed away as a result of her injuries two days later.

Two other male passengers in the Auris were also taken to hospital where they remain. One, aged 68, is seriously injured while the other, aged 47, is described as stable.

The female driver of the Auris and an 11-year-old boy were also taken to hospital but have since been discharged.

A Durham Constabulary spokeswoman said: “This has been an extremely tragic and upsetting incident. Mary’s family are understandably devastated and wish to be left to grieve in peace.”

The 34-year-old driver of the Transit van of Pilgrim Avenue, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was arrested at the scene and later charged with a number of offences.

He appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Monday (August 5) where he faced one count of drink driving, three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, one count of aggravated vehicle taking and one count of driving without insurance.

He did not enter any pleas and was remanded in custody to appear at Teesside Crown Court on September 2.

The collision happened at around 10.15pm on Friday (August) on the A1(M) southbound near the Newton Aycliffe junction.

Officers would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the collision, or saw the vehicles being driven beforehand. They would also like to hear from anyone who may have dashcam footage of the collision, or the lead up to it.

Please contact Durham Constabulary on 101, quoting incident number 556 of August 2 with any information.