A BUSINESSMAN has called for safety improvements on a busy trunk road near York after a car ended up underneath a pick-up truck in a five-vehicle crash.

Amazingly, no one was seriously injured in the dramatic collision, which happened on the A19 at Crockey Hill, between York and Selby, during Monday morning’s rush hour.

But David Martin, who runs a farm shop at Crockey Hill, said this was just the latest in a series of crashes on the A19 between York and Escrick, and claimed it was only a matter of time before someone was killed unless action is taken.

North Yorkshire Police revealed that officers are looking into placing police safety camera vans at the location.

Mr Martin said Monday’s crash was only about 100 metres from a shocking incident in December - captured on a dashcam - in which a tanker lorry crashed into the back of a stationary car.

Miraculously, no one is thought to have been seriously injured in that crash either, in which the articulated lorry and three cars were damaged.

Mr Martin called for a series of measures to tackle problems on the A19, such as speeding, including the installation of a speed camera.

“Otherwise, somebody is eventually going to end up being killed along there,” he said.

He claimed drivers regularly drove at 50 and 60 miles per hour along the A19 through Crockey Hill, where there was a 40 mph limit.

Mr Martin also claimed that ‘improvements’ to the junction with Wheldrake Lane carried out by City of York Council had actually made the situation worse, because some drivers used a right-turn lane to overtake and then struggled to get back into their own side in time.

North Yorkshire Police said its officers attended reports of a collision involving five vehicles at Crockey Hill at 7.43am yesterday, but the force would not comment on the cause of such a collision until all the facts were known.

“The site in question is currently undergoing assessment for the placement of a mobile safety camera,” said a force spokeswoman.

“We have no plans to use fixed site safety cameras at that location.

“We urge drivers to drive according to the road conditions and speed limits and ask them to be courteous to other road users.”

A Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokeswoman said it sent an ambulance and emergency care practitioner to yesterday’s crash but no one needed to be taken to hospital.

“They were walking wounded,” she added.

James Gilchrist, assistant director of transport, highways and environment at City of York Council, said: “We review accident locations to see where improvements can be made and work with the police to review them from a speed perspective.

“Meanwhile, we are sorry to hear of this morning's incident, we await a police report on this incident and will be looking at their findings.”