Good Samaritan driver killed by car in Yorkshire Dales

Police said the 57-year-old man, who has not been named, was standing behind his Land Rover Defender when he was struck by a Land Rover Freelander.

He had stopped to help recover a Vauxhall Corsa from a ditch at Bellerby Bank, between Richmond and Leyburn, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, when the accident happened.

Now officers have urged drivers and pedestrians to take extra care in the treacherous conditions.

A force spokesman said the incident happened on the A6108 at 7pm yesterday.

He said the Defender driver stopped to help recover the Vauxhall Corsa, which had left the road and ended up in a ditch.

As the man was standing behind his vehicle, he was hit by the Freelander, which was travelling down Bellerby Bank, trapping him between the two vehicles.

The Defender was also shunted into the Corsa."

The injured man, who is from the Catterick area of North Yorkshire, was taken to Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, with serious injuries.

Officers said he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The man's wife was in the passenger seat of the Defender when it was struck but was not injured.

The man driving the Corsa and the woman driving the Freelander escaped injury, police said.

Traffic Sergeant John Lumbard said: "This incident demonstrates just how treacherous the road conditions can become and the danger motorists can face.

"The melting snow can refreeze, causing patches of black ice to form that are virtually invisible until it is too late.

"I urge drivers to take extra care when making journeys.

"I am also appealing to pedestrians to pay attention to vehicles around them. If a driver has to take sudden action, the vehicle may not behave as they expect. Although the edges of pavements may not be clear, people should keep as far from the carriageway as possible.

"I ask that anyone who travelled along this stretch of road prior to the collision contacts the police as soon as possible so that we can establish what the road conditions were like at the time."