03-08-2025
Former councillor killed on road he tried to make safer
A former Labour councillor has been killed in a car crash on a road he campaigned to make safer.
John Michael Duggan, 81, died in hospital after his car collided with a skip lorry on Aug 1 as he tried to join the A19 in North Yorkshire.
The former Selby district councillor was taken to Leeds General Infirmary by air ambulance but was pronounced dead a short time later.
The lorry driver, a 42-year-old man from York, was arrested at the scene and was assisting officers with enquiries, according to North Yorkshire Police.
Mr Duggan had previously highlighted the junction on York Rd, which connects the village of Riccall with the major road, as one of several seriously dangerous intersections along the A19.
Campaigner appealed for roundabout
As a parish councillor for Riccall, he told the York Press newspaper in 2007 he was 'gravely concerned' about the safety of local drivers following a number of accidents, including fatal ones.
He said: 'The stretch of the A19 that runs past Riccall is one of the fastest sections of the road, and the speed of traffic using this section is totally unacceptable to local people who are trying to enter and exit the village.'
Mr Duggan had called for a roundabout to be built in the area and presented plans for one to North Yorkshire County Council.
Steve Shaw-Wright, the Labour leader of Selby town council, said it was 'tragically ironic' that Mr Duggan died on a stretch of road he campaigned to make safer.
'John was one who would campaign for what he believed to be right for his community, whether that was within the bounds of his political group or outside. John was very determined to support what people needed in his community,' he told ITV.
'He campaigned for the roundabout to get access and ingress from Riccall for a long, long time, it's tragically ironic that that was the place where he lost his life.'
'Tragedy makes need for improvement clear'
Keir Mather, the Labour MP for Selby, said the death of Mr Duggan, who was formerly a senior representative for the Unite union, highlighted the need for road safety improvements in the area.
'John was a well-known and much-loved local man, a father, uncle and a grandfather,' he said.
'He was known too for his time as a union convenor, a Selby district and North Yorkshire county councillor and, perhaps most poignantly, as a campaigner for better road safety in Riccall.
'This tragedy makes awfully clear the need for road safety improvements at both A19 junctions in Riccall.'
Mr Mather said he would press North Yorkshire council to reconsider introducing a roundabout 'or at the very least a speed reduction' on the stretch of the A19.
National Highways brought in a temporary speed limit of 50mph on part of the A19 in Teesside last year after a series of collisions.
The A19 runs from Seaton Burn, north of Newcastle, to just north of Doncaster, and has a 70mph speed limit for cars for much of its length.
