Woman dies in military truck crash as flash floods wreak havoc

The woman’s silver Nissan Almera and the white Daf 7.5 tonne Ministry of Defence goods truck crashed on the A161 near Goole just after 3.30pm yesterday.

Humberside Police said the woman, 51, was driving south along the A161 from Swinefleet towards her home in Eastoft, and the military vehicle was travelling in the opposite direction.

The driver of the military truck, a 54-year-old man from East Yorkshire, had to be cut free from the vehicle and suffered whiplash and injuries to his hand. The two passengers, a 63-year-old man from Beverley who suffered whiplash and a 20-year-old woman from Durham who had scratches to the leg and whiplash, were able to free themselves.

Police said: “At the time of the collision the weather conditions were poor with heavy rain and hail.”

Numerous emergency services attended the scene including an air ambulance, three road ambulances, a paramedic responder car, three fire tenders and a doctor, and the police.

The road was closed until approximately 9.50pm.

Police are appealing for witnesses as well as details of members of the public who helped at the scene to call Humberside Police traffic department at Driffield Police Station on 101, referring to log 368 of April 26.

Commuters were badly hit by the weather for a second day. This morning, train passengers were told to expect delays of up to 45 minutes between Leeds and Wakefield Westgate because of flooding in the Outwood area.

Flooding also closed part of the A656 Lock Lane in Castleford.

Last night, flash flooding at Kirkstall forced the cancellation of trains to Shipley, Skipton, Keighley and Ilkley. Some roads out of the city were briefly gridlocked as commuters took to their cars.

One frustrated commuter told the Yorkshire Post: “The organisation was woeful. I went to Leeds station because the rail website said the trains were running. When I got there it was a different story.

“At one point, we were told there was a train leaving to Ilkley, so everyone went to the platform only to be told that it was actually a bus.”

An Environment Agency flood warning was in place this morning for the River Calder at Steanard Lane in Mirfield.

A less severe flood alert was out for the River Aire between Stockbridge, near Keighley, and Castleford.

Experts are predicting more rain this weekend, with Sunday in particular expected to be a near-total washout.

Nick Prebble, forecaster with the MeteoGroup, said between 10 and 15mm of rain could fall in Leeds on Sunday alone.

The city’s monthly average rainfall for this time of year is between 55 and 60mm.

Meanwhile, Northern Rail was blaming blamed a signalling problem caused by cable theft for separate delays of up to an hour last night to trains between Sheffield, Doncaster and Leeds.