DEVASTATED relatives have paid tribute to an Ilkley woman killed in a horrific head-on car smash.
Dorothy Jones, 71, of Springs Lane, was one of the victims of the accident which happened at Hollins Hill, near Baildon, last Thursday night.
The Honda Civic she was
driving was involved in a crash with a Vauxhall Astra driven by 19-year-old Oliver Dean, who also died from his injuries.
Mrs Jones died from multiple injuries, as did her back seat
passenger, Muriel Metcalfe, 77, of Bradford Road, Menston. Mrs Jones's husband, Norman, 71, was injured.
Three other passengers in the Astra were also injured, one
seriously.
Winifred Baxter, Mrs Jones's sister-in-law, described her as
an active woman who had gone out dancing with her
husband and a friend on the night of the tragedy.
Mrs Baxter, 73, of Springs Lane, Ilkley, said: "We found out when Norman's son-in-law phoned us on Friday morning - it was a terrible shock. We're still in shock now and just can't believe what's happened.
"Dorothy was a very out-going person, very active and had passed her advanced drivers' test a few years ago.
"She was a former employee of Marks and Spencer - she'd been a supervisor at the Bradford store - and she was still a member of the pensioners' group.
"She and Norman had just started bowling in Ilkley and they loved dancing. They enjoyed modern, old time and sequence and on Thursday night they had gone out dancing in Shipley."
Mrs Baxter's husband, Eric, 71, added: "We saw them going off to a dance at 7.30pm. You just don't think anything like that is going to happen, but when we got up on Friday morning their car wasn't outside, and then we got the call from Norman's son-in-law.
"We've been told Norman's in a stable condition. He knows what's happened to Dorothy but can't believe it. He's in a state of shock."
Mrs Jones leaves two grown-up children, Paul and Jane, and three grandchildren.
A neighbour of Muriel Metcalfe's, who did not want to be named, said: "I knew her
for three or four years and she was a lovely lady. It's a real tragedy."
The driver of the Astra, Mr Dean, an apprentice plumber and heating engineer of Thornton, was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary suffering from broken legs, broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and punctured lungs. He died three hours after the accident despite attempts to save him.
It later emerged that he
had passed his driving test
only three weeks before the accident.
His girl friend of four years, Emma Spencer, 19, of Coach Road, Baildon, said that everybody knew him in Baildon, where he lived before the family moved to Thornton two years ago.
"He was full of life," she said. "He would walk in the room and the whole atmosphere would change."
The passengers in his car are
understood to be from the Baildon area. Front seat
passenger Matthew Cook and back seat passenger Steven Field escaped serious injury.
Kirwin Daniels, who was also
travelling in the back of the Astra, is understood to have
serious leg injuries.
One of the firefighters who attended the scene of the crash said it was one of the worst road accidents he had ever seen.
The Vauxhall Astra had been left at 90 degrees across the road and the Honda was on a bit of wasteland and had come to rest against a lamppost.
Sub Officer Chris Clarke, of Rawdon Fire Station, said: "It was an horrendous scene. There was debris and engine parts strewn across the road. It was one of the worst accidents involving two cars I have ever seen. What made it worse was that there was fuel leaking from the Astra so we were trying to work in a pool of petrol which was obviously dangerous.
"It looked like the cars had collided head-on at the drivers' sides because the engine
compartments had completely crushed the driver's space right up to the seats.
"The driver of the Honda was severely trapped in the vehicle but she was already dead.
"The young driver of the Astra was severely trapped by the legs. We had to take the whole side of the car and the roof off to get him out which took about 25 minutes.
"It was a really sad scene. The elderly people looked like they had been out dancing and they were all dressed up."
Hollins Hill was closed for more than five hours while police accident investigators examined the scene.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article