A NIGHTMARE - that is how police described traffic chaos on the A64, after an elderly woman was hit by a car and killed.

The accident sparked rush-hour chaos, with tailbacks of more than five miles in all directions. Police said the woman, in her sixties, was knocked down as she tried to cross the busy dual carriageway at a notorious blackspot north of York. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Both lanes of the west-bound A64 were shut for more than five hours as police accident investigators combed the stretch of the road at the top of Whitwell Hill.

York-bound traffic was diverted along Ryedale's country roads, prompting gridlock in surrounding villages. Traffic heading out of York slowed to a 5mph crawl, after one east-bound lane was also closed.

At the scene, Sergeant John Clayton said the woman had just been dropped off by a car and was trying to cross the road towards Whitwell-on-the-Hill at about 3.15pm.

Sgt Clayton said: "She was hit by a passing car, and paramedics confirmed that she died at the scene." The woman has not yet been identified.

The A64 westbound was sealed off from Barrygate Lane, just south of Malton, to the Whitwell junction at Trout Hill.

Sgt Clayton said: "The A64 between Malton and York is a nightmare to shut, but we had no choice."

The stretch of road is notorious locally, with a bus stop at the brow of Whitwell Hill. Commuters have to dash across four lanes of 70mph traffic to get to the other side.

Today, residents called for urgent safety improvements. Anthea Mitchell, of Whitwell-on-the-Hill, said: "I won't let my children get the bus home from school, because crossing the A64 is just too dangerous.

"I have lived here 14 years and there have been numerous accidents on that road."

In April last year, NHS chief Dr Jeffrie Strang branded the A64 north of York a "health problem", and local residents have long campaigned for a raft of safety improvements, including flyovers and extra lanes.

The latest accident mirrors a similar incident last month, on the A64 south of York at Bilbrough Top. Then, 43-year-old Ladislav Hosova was hit by a motorcycle after she got off a bus and tried to cross the road.

The car involved in yesterday's accident was a dark-coloured Land Rover Discovery, and police have appealed for anyone who saw it or the woman before the accident to get in touch.

They are also anxious to trace a middle-aged couple in a Volvo seen overtaking the Land Rover just before the collision.

It is believed the Volvo stopped further down the road, reversed back and then drove off a short time later.

Anyone with information should phone PC Gareth Gilleard, of the Malton Road Policing Group, on 01723 509555.

Notorious road

THE A64 between York and Malton has long been notorious for its accident toll.

Statistics show the crossroads for Castle Howard and Howsham, which crosses the dual carriageway near Barton Hill, is North Yorkshire's seventh worst blackspot, with 11 crashes in only three years, several of them serious.

Meanwhile, nearby Golden Hill has claimed ten road victims in as many years.

The A64 Malton exit, known locally as Musley Bank, has also been the scene of several accidents - and the road near the Welburn crossroads was likened to Brands Hatch by a coroner in 2003.

Last April, two cars collided in exactly the same place as yesterday's fatal accident at Whitwell Hill - both drivers were unhurt, and one said he was "thanking his lucky stars" to have escaped injury.