A TOWN centre ground to halt when a pedestrian was involved in a serious two-car crash at a busy junction, just metres away from where a young mother died after being hit by a car.

Debris from the crash was strewn across St Cuthbert’s Way in Darlington on Friday, with emergency services blocking the road and diverting traffic away from the scene for around two hours.

The Northern Echo:

A 999 call was made shortly after noon, with ambulance crews, firefighters and police being dispatched to the ring road junction with Parkgate.

A barrier protecting a pedestrian crossing opposite Darlington Police Station was destroyed in the crash, with both cars sustaining extensive damage to their front ends.

Airbags in the two cars – a BMW estate and a Volkswagen Passat – had gone off on impact.

A Durham Police spokeswoman said: “Police were called just after 12pm following a two-vehicle collision, involving a pedestrian on St Cuthbert's Way, Darlington

“Both drivers and the pedestrian have sustained minor injuries.”

The Northern Echo:

Congestion on all routes into Darlington town centre were severely affected following the crash, with partial road closures on sections of St Cuthbert’s Way and two lanes cut down to one.

The incident happened at the same junction where 29-year-old mother-of-two, Shantelle Kirkup, from Northallerton, was struck by a car and killed as she crossed the road with her children in May.