Woman, 19, killed in head-on crash on A53 near Shrewsbury

The woman was driving a blue Volkswagen Polo on the A53 at Astley, heading from Shrewsbury towards Tern Hill, when it collided with a white BMW M140i coming in the opposite direction, at around 4.15pm on Saturday.

West Mercia Police has now confirmed that the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The force also said a 33-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the crash.

The crash closed the between road between The Dog in the Lane pub and Battlefield Island on Saturday afternoon for six hours while emergency services were at the scene, with police announcing its reopening at around 10.15pm.

Both the Midlands Air Ambulance from Cosford and Welsh Air Ambulance were sent to the scene of the crash, along with three ambulances and a paramedic officer.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said crews found three patients.

"The driver of one of the cars was in a critical condition with bystander CPR already in progress, but despite everyone’s best efforts, nothing could be done to save her and she was confirmed deceased on scene," she said.

"The passenger from the same vehicle, a woman, was treated for potentially serious injuries and was conveyed to Royal Stoke University Hospital on blue lights and sirens. The driver of the second vehicle was treated for potentially serious injuries and was conveyed to Royal Stoke Hospital by air ambulance.”

Officers are now appealing for witnesses. They are asking for anyone who was in the area and saw what happened, or who has dash-cam footage of the collision or of the BMW or Polo in the minutes leading up to the collision, to get in touch.

Anyone with information is asked to contact West Mercia Police at westmercia.police.uk quoting incident number 378 of 9 April 2022.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org