Three generations of the same family
have been killed in a head-on crash between a car and a lorry on one of
Britain's most dangerous roads.
David Cockburn, 48, his daughters Carley Ann Cockburn, 21, and Bethany Cockburn, 18, and Bethany's 23-month-old daughter Lacie Jade Stephenson died in the accident near Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire yesterday afternoon. A fifth family member is yet to be formally identified, Humberside Police said.
It emerged today the family were on their way to Butlin's in Skegness to take part in a dance competition.
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Three members of the Durham family were
pronounced dead at the scene on the A18 near Laceby Manor Golf Club,
Grimsby, while two died in the nearby Diana Princess of Wales Hospital.
The driver of the lorry is thought to have sustained minor injuries.
Floral tributes were today laid outside the family home in Chester-Le-Street, County Durham.
The crash happened at 12.30pm yesterday near Oaklands Hotel on the A18 Grimsby Road, in Laceby, when the family's Nissan Primera was in collision with a light goods vehicle.
Operations Superintendent Tracy Bradley, of Humberside Police, said: 'Our deepest thoughts go out to the family and friends of those who were tragically killed in this collision which happened on the A18 yesterday. We are working closely with relatives of those who lost their lives and are supporting them through what will be a very difficult time.
'Roads policing officers are working closely with our collision investigation team to piece together the evidence we have gathered in order to try and determine what led to this tragic incident taking place and took the lives of those travelling in the Nissan at the time.
'We have spoken to a number of key witnesses already, however, if anyone saw the incident but has not come forward I would ask them to do so.'
Hundreds of people left their condolences on a special Facebook page set up in tribute to the family.
More than 22,500 people had joined the R.I.P Cockburn Family page on the social networking site in just a few hours.
The page features photographs of the family, including some of Carley and Bethany wearing dancing costumes.
One person left a message which read: 'So so sad xx dancing with the angels now x R.I.P xxx'
Another posted: 'Dance in heaven beautiful angels x'
On a photo of Lacie, who would have turned two next month, one Facebook user wrote: 'Sleep tight lacie a beautiful girl and now a precious angel'.
Many people left anecdotes about the family on the page, with one describing Mr Cockburn as 'a gentle kind man' who was 'totally devoted to his family'.
A number of people had also posted tributes on Bethany's personal Facebook page, on which she wrote that she was in a relationship with Garry Stephenson, a soldier in the Scots Guards, and described daughter Lacie as 'Our world!'.
Carley and Bethany are believed to have been members of a dance school in Washington, Tyne and Wear.
A dance teacher from the Durham area, who did not want to be named, said the dancing community had been left 'distraught' by the news of Carley and Bethany's deaths.
She said: 'It's just the shock of it happening on the way to this festival. Everyone's just totally distraught at the moment.'
Chris Baron, resort director at Butlin's Skegness, said: 'We are all shocked and stunned by this tragedy and our thoughts go out to the extended families of the victims.
'Our team at Skegness is offering support and assistance to the other competitors and their families. We are working closely with the dance competition organisers.'
Witnesses said the road was notoriously dangerous. Jason Abrams, a golfer at the nearby Laceby Manor Golf Club, told ITV News: 'It's
a bendy road but people do go at a great lick along it. It's 60mph at
the moment but the council are looking at changing it to 50 and
hopefully this will make a difference.
‘A car went into an articulated lorry. All we know is what the police have said - that the car tried to overtake something or the car hit a curb which has sent it spinning out of control and obviously gone head-on into a lorry.’
Supt Bradley told the Grimsby Telegraph officers were looking for further witnesses to come forward.
‘At this moment in time we are conducting an investigation to try to find out what the cause of the incident was, and we have family liaison officers that are working with family and relatives of the deceased,' he said.
‘We would like to appeal to any witnesses that either saw any of the vehicles prior to the collision or saw the incident occurring.’
Eight emergency vehicles were called to the scene, five ambulances and three fire engines, according to witnesses.
The road was closed for investigations but was reopened shortly after 10pm yesterday.
The road is one of the most notorious in the area and has been the scene of 20 accidents in the last three years.
It featured in a BBC television programme, Britain's Most Dangerous Roads, in 2011, which claimed it was 25 times more dangerous than the average British motorway.
It was also found to be the UK's highest-risk stretch of road for car drivers in a nationwide survey by the Road Safety Foundation in 2010.
David Cockburn, 48, his daughters Carley Ann Cockburn, 21, and Bethany Cockburn, 18, and Bethany's 23-month-old daughter Lacie Jade Stephenson died in the accident near Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire yesterday afternoon. A fifth family member is yet to be formally identified, Humberside Police said.
It emerged today the family were on their way to Butlin's in Skegness to take part in a dance competition.
Scroll down for video
David Cockburn, 48, his daughters Carley Ann
Cockburn, 21, and Bethany Cockburn, 18, and Bethany's 23-month-old
daughter Lacie Jade Stephenson died in the accident near Grimsby
Victims: Bethany Cockburn and her 23-month-old
daughter Lacie Jade Stephenson both died in the crash. They are pictured
here with Bethany's boyfriend
Horror scene: The car the Cockburn family were travelling in collided head-on with a lorry on the A18 near Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Tragedy: The family's Nissan Primera is covered by fabric following the fatal crash that killed five people
Tributes: Flowers are left outside the Cockburn family home in Chester-Le-Street, County Durham
Outing: The family were on their way to Butlin's in Skegness to take part in a dance competition
Floral tributes were today laid outside the family home in Chester-Le-Street, County Durham.
The crash happened at 12.30pm yesterday near Oaklands Hotel on the A18 Grimsby Road, in Laceby, when the family's Nissan Primera was in collision with a light goods vehicle.
Operations Superintendent Tracy Bradley, of Humberside Police, said: 'Our deepest thoughts go out to the family and friends of those who were tragically killed in this collision which happened on the A18 yesterday. We are working closely with relatives of those who lost their lives and are supporting them through what will be a very difficult time.
'Roads policing officers are working closely with our collision investigation team to piece together the evidence we have gathered in order to try and determine what led to this tragic incident taking place and took the lives of those travelling in the Nissan at the time.
'We have spoken to a number of key witnesses already, however, if anyone saw the incident but has not come forward I would ask them to do so.'
Crash: Three people were pronounced dead at the scene, the two remaining passengers died at hospital
Scene: The head-on collision between the
family's car and the light goods vehicle occurred at 12.30pm today on
Barton Street, Grimsby
A force spokesman said relatives of the family have asked to be left alone.Hundreds of people left their condolences on a special Facebook page set up in tribute to the family.
More than 22,500 people had joined the R.I.P Cockburn Family page on the social networking site in just a few hours.
The page features photographs of the family, including some of Carley and Bethany wearing dancing costumes.
One person left a message which read: 'So so sad xx dancing with the angels now x R.I.P xxx'
Another posted: 'Dance in heaven beautiful angels x'
On a photo of Lacie, who would have turned two next month, one Facebook user wrote: 'Sleep tight lacie a beautiful girl and now a precious angel'.
Many people left anecdotes about the family on the page, with one describing Mr Cockburn as 'a gentle kind man' who was 'totally devoted to his family'.
A number of people had also posted tributes on Bethany's personal Facebook page, on which she wrote that she was in a relationship with Garry Stephenson, a soldier in the Scots Guards, and described daughter Lacie as 'Our world!'.
Carley and Bethany are believed to have been members of a dance school in Washington, Tyne and Wear.
A dance teacher from the Durham area, who did not want to be named, said the dancing community had been left 'distraught' by the news of Carley and Bethany's deaths.
She said: 'It's just the shock of it happening on the way to this festival. Everyone's just totally distraught at the moment.'
Chris Baron, resort director at Butlin's Skegness, said: 'We are all shocked and stunned by this tragedy and our thoughts go out to the extended families of the victims.
'Our team at Skegness is offering support and assistance to the other competitors and their families. We are working closely with the dance competition organisers.'
'Our deepest thoughts go out to the family
and friends of those who were tragically killed in this collision which
happened on the A18 yesterday'
- Operations Superintendent Tracy Bradley
‘A car went into an articulated lorry. All we know is what the police have said - that the car tried to overtake something or the car hit a curb which has sent it spinning out of control and obviously gone head-on into a lorry.’
Supt Bradley told the Grimsby Telegraph officers were looking for further witnesses to come forward.
‘At this moment in time we are conducting an investigation to try to find out what the cause of the incident was, and we have family liaison officers that are working with family and relatives of the deceased,' he said.
‘We would like to appeal to any witnesses that either saw any of the vehicles prior to the collision or saw the incident occurring.’
Eight emergency vehicles were called to the scene, five ambulances and three fire engines, according to witnesses.
The road was closed for investigations but was reopened shortly after 10pm yesterday.
The road is one of the most notorious in the area and has been the scene of 20 accidents in the last three years.
It featured in a BBC television programme, Britain's Most Dangerous Roads, in 2011, which claimed it was 25 times more dangerous than the average British motorway.
It was also found to be the UK's highest-risk stretch of road for car drivers in a nationwide survey by the Road Safety Foundation in 2010.