Woman dies in two-car crash on A417 in Birdlip

BBC A417 closureBBC
The crash happened on a notorious stretch of road in Gloucestershire

A woman has died and another has serious injuries after a collision involving two vehicles in Gloucestershire.

Emergency services attended the A417 in Birdlip, between Burford Road and The Air Balloon Roundabout, at about 21:00 BST on Wednesday.

A woman in her 40s, from Cirencester, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A second woman, in her 30s, is being treated at Southmead Hospital in Bristol for serious injuries.

The road was closed until late on Thursday afternoon but has since reopened in both directions.

The collision involved a blue Mazda-2 which was travelling towards Swindon and a white Nissan Qashqai which was travelling towards the Air Balloon roundabout

Police cars on the A417
The A417 is closed between Burford Road and The Air Balloon Roundabout

Officers are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

The single-carriageway stretch of the A417 leading to The Air Balloon Roundabout has been known to be notorious for collisions.

The A417 Missing Link project will bypass the roundabout in a bid to improve the safety of the traffic bottleneck.

Two extra lanes will be added to the road and the gradient down Crickley Hill will be reduced from 10% to 8%.

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