Father sees son die as four cyclists killed in smash

A FATHER watched in horror yesterday as his teenage son was killed along with three men when a car ploughed into a group of cyclists.

The cyclists were taking advantage of fine weather near Abergele in North Wales when the tragedy occurred at about 10am.

Scott Eccles, secretary of Rhyl Cycling Club, said they had been on the A547 Ludland Road when a Toyota Corolla travelling in the opposite direction lost control and veered across the road into them.

According to Mr Eccles, a 42-year-old man, a man in his 60s, and a 49-year-old man died instantly.

Another cyclist, who escaped with a broken leg, saw his 14-year-old son hit and killed by the car.

Apart from the four fatalities and the father with a broken leg, four other adult riders and three children were uninjured but in shock.

The 42-year-old victim was a father-of-two, the man in his 60s was married with a son and a daughter, and the 49-year-old was also a married father.

All the cyclists were from the Rhyl area, and are believed to have been on a 50-mile round trip when the crash happened just west of Abergele.

Mr Eccles said: "There was a car coming the other way. There was a kink in the road and it was icy.

"Apparently there had been an accident on the same stretch earlier.

"The car lost control, went up the grass verge, and then it came across the road and into them. They were dead straight away."

Mr Eccles said the section of road, which is generally straight but has one area with sharp bends, was known to be "dangerous."

In September the A547 in the Abergele area was named among the 11 most deadly roads in north Wales by police.

Emergency services, including an air ambulance, rushed to the scene following the crash, and survivors were taken to Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan for treatment.

Chief Inspector Lyn Adams, from North Wales Police, speaking at the scene of the accident, said: "The driver has lost control because of the ice on the road.

"There is no indication to suggest that this is down to something like excessive speed.

A couple, who live near the scene of the accident, described the "carnage" they saw immediately after the crash. Ms Luckman and her husband Terry, 60, a retired transport manager, have lived in their converted farmhouse on the A547 for 24 years. They described the road outside as an "accident blackspot."

"There was an accident here at nine o'clock this morning," said Ms Luckman. "It rained here last night. It rained hard and it froze immediately afterwards."