A WOMAN in her early 40s has died as a result of serious injuries sustained in a car crash last week on the Ilminster bypass.

The incident happened at about 8.15pm on the A303 Ilminster bypass on Wednesday (July 15, 2015).

A Suzuki Jimny travelling westbound was in collision with a Nissan Qashqai travelling in the opposite direction.

The driver of the Qashqai – a woman in her 40s – suffered serious injuries and died following the incident.

The driver of the other vehicle remains in hospital in a life threatening condition. Two other passengers in the Qashqai are stable.

A police spokesman said: “We are keen to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident who may have information that can help our enquiries. Anyone with information is asked to contact the force’s Collision Investigation Unit on 101, quoting log 1028 on 15/07.”

It is the latest fatal accident to have occurred on the Ilminster bypass in recent years and people are asking when action will be finally taken to try and improve safety on that stretch of the A303.

There have been a number of incidents on the bypass and nearby in recent weeks.

There was a collision last Monday (July 13, 2015) between a lorry and a car on the bypass, while a woman who died on the A303 near the bypass on Tuesday, July 7, was last week formally identified as 28-year-old Laura Barbosa-Garrido from Spain. She died as a result of injuries sustained in a three-vehicle crash.

Three years ago in September 2012 there was a double tragedy when Essex couple Paul Hobday and Michelle Edney were killed in a crash, but the Highways Agency told the News at the time that “accident data shows that the Ilminster Bypass is one of the safest sections of the A303”.

Now Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh has said that the bypass safety has to be looked at.

Mr Fysh said: “I would like to offer my condolences and heartfelt best wishes to the families of those involved in the recent incidents and I am very concerned at the spate of accidents that has occurred recently near Ilminster on the A303.

“We are pushing ahead with the dualling plans for the A303. The money has been committed and I am working with the Minister on getting Highways England into the consultation and detailed programming soon as possible.”

Mr Fysh has suggested that one possible way of improving safety on the bypass would be to “squeeze an extra lane in so that there doesn’t have to be merging” where the road goes from two lanes back down to one.

But Mr Fysh added that he understood the bypass was not included in the initial dualling plans for the A303.

He did, however, urge motorists to take extra caution when using the bypass in a bid to avoid further tragedies.