Calls for action after pensioner dies in minibus crash on B1040

In the petition which was created last night, Rachel Fabb said she had seen “horrendous accidents” there in the last 18 years and called for better signage and either traffic lights or a roundabout.

Cambridgeshire police last night closed the road after two vehicles crashed at the crossroads near Bluntisham village in Huntingdon at 4.51pm.

Ten ambulances, 20 firefighters, the East Anglian Air Ambulance and a hazard response team all rushed to the scene.

This morning, the East of England Ambulance Service confirmed one person had died.

The person who died was a woman in her 80s, police said.

A total of 18 passengers from the minibus, all aged between 60 and 80, were taken to hospital. Some were seriously injured, but further details are unclear.

The driver of the Volkswagen, a man in his 70s, was also taken to hospital where he remains in a serious condition.

And in the wake of the crash, more than 1,000 people have signed the petition calling for urgent improvements with organisers saying they need a change “to protect ourselves, our families and our friends.”

The petition to Cambridgeshire County Council Highways reads: “For many years local safety groups have been campaigning to try and make the vast improvements needed to this junction.

“The crossroads are in desperate need of better signage and either traffic lights or a roundabout.

“I’ve been travelling along this road for the last 18 years and in that time I have seen some horrendous accidents, lots of near misses and with the traffic increasing year on year the problem is only getting worse.

“On Tuesday this week we attended a local safety group meeting to discuss this specific issue and concern and it was extremely disappointing and frustrating to hear that the group have been battling for years to get improvements done to this road.

“Despite their extensive efforts improvements haven’t been authorised by the council/highways. The stats are there in black and white and the number of accidents in the last month, in particular, is scary.

“Another devastating accident this evening and that just shows the problem will not go away.

“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE sign this petition in particular if you live in Somersham, St Ives and any of the surrounding villages. We need a change to protect ourselves, our families and our friends.

“Together we have to try and make a difference.”

To sign the petition you can go to: https://www.change.org/p/cambs-county-council-highways-major-improvements-needed-to-b1040-wheatsheaf-crossroads-main-road-somersham-to-st-ive

Anyone who witnessed the collision, or has any information, is asked to contact the road policing unit on 101 quoting incident number 365 of November 15 or visit www.cambs.police.uk/report.