Police officer dies after being hit by lorry while responding to crash on motorway
North Yorkshire Police constable Rosie Prior and a male civilian both died at the scene of the double crash, while the lorry driver has been arrested
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A North Yorkshire police officer has died after she was struck by a lorry whilst helping at the scene of another crash on the side of a highway.
North Yorkshire Police constable Rosie Prior was standing on the verge of the A19 at Bagby, near the village of Thirsk, on Saturday morning when she and two others were struck by an approaching heavy goods vehicle (HGV) just before 9am.
Ms Prior and Ryan Welford, 41, from Knaresborough, who had been involved in the first collision, both died at the scene of the double crash.
A teenage boy who was a passenger in Mr Welford’s car was also struck and remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
North Yorkshire Police said the driver of the HGV, a 65-year-old man from Berwick-upon-Tweed, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He has been released under investigation.
North Yorkshire Police’s chief constable Tim Forber paid tribute to Ms Prior, confirming her death with “profound sadness”.
“We are doing everything we can to support Rosie’s family, along with the family of a man who was also tragically killed in the incident,” he said.
“This is clearly a deeply traumatic and heartbreaking event for everyone involved.”
The force said Ms Prior joined North Yorkshire Police as a student officer in May 2022.
Her family described her as “a loving mum, wife, daughter, sister, aunty and will be deeply missed”.
Mr Welford’s family provided a statement to North Yorkshire Police to express their grief.
“Ryan was a hardworking and loving father, husband, son and brother,” the statement read.
“He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.”
The scene of the collision reopened at around 7.20pm on Saturday.
Two cars and the lorry have been recovered and the surrounding roads have had debris cleared.
The major collision investigation team is urging witnesses to either of the two collisions and motorists with relevant dashcam footage, to get in touch without delay.
Anyone with information is urged to email mcit@northyorkshire.police.uk quoting reference number 12250006038.