TWO teenage boys have been killed and seven others injured in a major crash.

The boys, named locally as George Turner and Mason Pearson, both 17, died in the collision, which involved two cars.

The Northern Echo:

Mason Pearson

A green VW Bora and a black Ford Focus were heading in the opposite direction on the A61 just outside Carlton Miniott near Busby Stoop when the collision happened.

The two 17-year-old boys, rear seat passengers in the VW Bora, were sadly pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Five other people and two children were taken to hospital.

Another two passengers in the same vehicle, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy, are in a critical condition at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and Leeds General infirmary respectively.

One of the firefighters who attended the scene of the tragedy discovered on his arrival that one of the seriously injured teenagers was his own son.

A spokeswoman for the fire service said: “On arrival crews assisted with the release of a number casualties, who were trapped, from one of the vehicles.  The causalities were then handed over to paramedics for transportation to hospital.

“We can confirm that the son of one of the firefighters who attended was involved in the incident, he is currently in a stable condition in hospital.”

The driver of the VW Bora, a 22-year-old man, is receiving treatment at James Cook University Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

All the occupants in the VW Bora are from the Thirsk area.

The driver of the Ford Focus, a 27-year-old man from outside the area, was discharged from James Cook University Hospital following treatment.

A passenger in the car, a 24-year-old woman, is receiving treatment at the hospital.

A three-year-old girl and a six-month old boy have also been kept in hospital for observations as a precaution.

It is believed the two teenage boys were from Thirsk and former students at Thirsk School and Sixth Form College. 

North Yorkshire Police have not yet officially confirmed the identity of the teenagers.

The two teenagers were said to be keen Middlesbrough supporters.

Fellow Boro fans have called on those who will be at Saturday’s home game against Barnsley on Saturday to take part in a minute’s applause in the 17th minute of the match.

Popular Middlesbrough player Fabio Da Silva backed that call, tweeting: "Such sad, sad news.

"I’ll be applauding in the 17th minute on Saturday, please join us."

This was echoed by Boro keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos who tweeted: "Let's give a big round of applause for these boys on Saturday."

The Banter Page for Middlesbrough Fans Only wrote: “Now fellow supporters have called on those at Saturday’s home game against Barnsley to pay tribute and take part in a minute’s applause in the 17th minute of the match.

"RIP LADS

“And speedy recovering to the injured.”

A woman and a young child laid flowers at the scene of the crash on Thursday morning.

Messages on flowers left in the snow read: "RIP Boys, love you both lads. Forever in my thoughts, brothers for life" and "Rest in peace. Always in our heart and will never be forgotten."

North Yorkshire Police said: "The collision happened at around 9.25pm and involved three vehicles - a black Ford Focus, a black Vauxhall Corsa and a green Volkswagen Bora that were travelling from Thirsk to Busby Stoop.

The Northern Echo:

"Anyone who saw the three vehicles prior to the collision, witnessed the collision, or who was travelling in the area at the time with dashboard cameras in operation, is urged to contact us on 101 or email MCIT@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

"The stretch of road was closed to allow emergency services to respond to the incident and reopened at 4.45am on Thursday morning."

Thirsk ward councillor Gareth Dadd spoke of his shock over the incident.

He said: "This is heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking for the families involved and my heart goes out to all those involved.

"It is tragic for anybody, but people so young with their full life ahead of them makes it doubly tragic.

"And in terms of moving on, I just urge everbody to be calm and await the professional reports that will come."

Someone who came across the scene wrote on Facebook: "There has been a bad crash on the corner into Carlton Miniot, just off Busby Stoop roundabout, several fire engines and police and paramedics and still more arriving.
"I hope everyone is ok, from what we could see we thought it was young lads." 

Keith Hensby-Peck wrote on North Yorkshire Police's Facebook Page: "Thoughts go out to family and friends of those affected by this.. and also to the thin blue line and other emergency services who have to attend these awful accidents day in and day out.."