A WOMAN who was seriously injured in a three car pile-up on the notorious A417 near Birdlip on Easter Sunday has died in hospital.

The 67-year-old woman from Worcester, who has yet to be named by the police, died at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on Wednesday, April 23.

She is the fifth person to have died on the single carriageway stretch of road since last November.

The crash happened at around 5.20pm on Sunday, April 20 between the Air Balloon Roundabout and the turn-off for Birdlip.

The woman was a passenger in a white Nissan Qashqai that was being driven towards Gloucester by a 67-year-old man, also from Worcester.

A Grey BMW 3-series car driven by a 48-year-old man from Surrey travelling towards Cirencester collided with the Nissan Qashqai.

Another car, a blue Vauxhall Astra being driven by a 29-year-old woman from Surrey was also involved in the smash.

The drivers of the Nissan and BMW were also taken to hospital but have since been discharged.

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, county councillor for Bourton and Northleach, said the Easter crash is a reminder that a solution to the problematic road needs to be found.

“We have had a really bad run of accidents in the last six months. The road is a nightmare and needs to be fixed urgently,” he said.

A county-wide campaign urging the government to spend £250million on a new dual carriageway between the roundabouts at Cowley and the Air Balloon pub was launched last year.

So far the A417 Loop project has received the backing of 4,500 residents, commuters and businesses from across Gloucestershire.

“These latest sad events show precisely why the government must see sense and commit the money to making the road safer while addressing the issues of pollution and gridlock,” Cllr Hodgkinson said.

It is hoped that with a continued and united response from people across the county, the A417 Loop scheme will be added to the Highways Agency’s list of future road scheme priorities in the near future.

If successful, the project has a much higher chance of securing the vital funding needed when the government allocates cash in 2015.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire County Council said: “We are in close contact with the Highways Agency and we will be told when they are to announce their list in due course.
“We are continuing to urge people to keep pledging their support to the proposal.”

The campaign can be supported online at www.a417missinglink.co.uk.

Anyone who may have any information on this incident is asked to contact Gloucestershire Police on 101, quoting incident number 326 of April 20.