UPDATE - Terrington St Clement roundabout petition tops 4,000 signatures

The petition, on the change.org campaign website, was set up after Monday’s collision between a car and a lorry at the junction of the A17 and Station Road, Terrington St Clement.

A woman in her 20s from Lincolnshire, who has been named locally as Laura Pesterfield, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two children were taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge with what police described as “life-threatening” injuries.

The crash, which is the second fatal crash to have happened at the junction in just over a year, has raised new questions over its safety.

And a petition on the change.org campaigning website, which was set up within hours of the crash, has now attracted around 4,500 supporters.

The campaign, set up by Nic Skinner, is calling on Norfolk County Council to install a roundabout in order to make the site safer.

The petition claims four people have died in crashes at the site over the last six years, although the authority says two of those incidents happened near the junction rather than at it.

The campaign also claims motorists have been let down by repeated failures to act over safety concerns.

It asks: “Just how many lives does it take before any action is taken?”

There have also been calls for lower speed limits and speed cameras to be introduced around the junction in recent months.

And, last month, Norfolk coroner Jacqueline Lake called for the speed limit around the junction to be clarified during an inquest into the death of motorcyclist Steven Moulton, who was killed in a crash at the same junction in October last year.

But county roads officials, who say installing a roundabout at the site would cost at least £1 million, insisted the speed restrictions there are clear.

Tracy Jessop, the county council’s assistant director of highways and transport, said: “This is a desperately sad and tragic incident. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of everyone involved.

“It is too early to know exactly what happened yesterday, but the full circumstances will be investigated by the police and reported to the coroner at an inquest.

“We will, of course, be taking account of the specific details of this incident, and the overall accident record at this junction, on what is a very busy road used by thousands of people every day, to help inform any actions that may be necessary.

“There are understandably strong local opinions about this stretch of the A17 and we will continue to meet with community representatives as the facts around this tragedy emerge.”

Local borough councillor Sheila Young said people should wait until the circumstances of the crash are known before proposing reforms.

She added: “This situation will be reviewed again, I’m sure.”

The petition can be found at www.change.org/p/norfolk-county-council-put-a-roundabout-at-station-road-junction-and-the-a17-norfolk