A FORMER teacher from York was killed when a van veered from the opposite lane of a dual carriageway into her path.

Now a coroner hearing an inquest into the tragedy has called for dangerous gaps on the A19 crash barrier to be closed.

Sonia Rose, 83, a former teacher at Fulford School in York, died on the dual carriageway near Northallerton on September 30 last year, after a van travelling south hit the central reservation and started heading down the opposite side of the road.

Mrs Rose, from Carlton Miniott near Thirsk, had been travelling to meet her walking group in Great Ayton. She died at the scene of multiple injuries.

Now her family is calling for safety measures to be introduced on the A19 between Dishforth and the Tyne Tunnel, which has seen numerous serious and fatal accidents over the years.

Her daughter, Katy Rose, said: “It seems now that if a barrier had been in place at this long gap on the dual carriageway then our lovely mum would be alive today.”

An inquest at County Hall in Northallerton yesterday heard the box van was being driven south from Newcastle.

The driver told the inquest he blacked out near the Cleveland Tontine junction. He said as he regained consciousness he saw he was travelling at speed towards trees and, confused, he turned into the path of oncoming traffic.

The driver said he had sought medical tests to establish the cause of his black out and eventually found he had severe sleep apnoea.

The inquest heard from witnesses who reported seeing the van suddenly hit the crash barrier which caused it to tip on to two wheels and pass through a gap into the northbound carriageway.

Coroner Michael Oakley said he was concerned by the multitude of crossing points on that particular stretch of road and would be writing to the Department for Transport, calling for them to consider "very quickly, the closure of many, if not all, of the gaps on the road".

He concluded the inquest with a narrative verdict, saying: “A van travelling south on the A19 crossed the central reservation through a gap which exists into the northbound carriageway and collided head on with the deceased’s car.”

Sonia Rose’s son, John Rose, who is originally from York but now lives in Thirsk, said there were nearly 25 gaps in the crash barrier on the A19 dual carriageway through North Yorkshire and the North-East.

“Our focus now is to make this road safer,” he said.