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Iwade mum Rachel Rook calls for A249 safety measures between Sittingbourne and Maidstone

A woman who lost her father in an accident on the A249 is calling for a review of safety on the road after a motorcyclist was seriously injured.

Police investigators are appealing for information following the incident at 5.30pm on Friday near the Stockbury roundabout.

Rachel Rook, who lost her father in an accident on the A249
Rachel Rook, who lost her father in an accident on the A249

The 43-year-old biker’s green Kawasaki was in collision with a bronze-coloured Ford Fiesta on the Maidstone-bound carriageway.

The motorcyclist had been travelling coastbound but completed a U-turn at the Hucking turn-off before accelerating towards Detling, where it’s thought he collided with the rear of the car.

He was taken to a hospital in London, where his condition remains serious. The Fiesta’s woman driver was uninjured.

The road was closed for about five hours to allow collision investigators to conduct an examination of the scene and recover the vehicle involved.

The incident brought back memories for Rachel Rook, who launched a campaign in 2008 to close the junctions on the A249.

Her father, courier David Murray-Hill, 62, from Sittingbourne, died in June 2007 after driving into a low-loader that braked suddenly.

An inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.

The married mum-of-two, of Cormorant Road, Iwade, said: “I was getting nowhere with the campaign as Kent Highways was basically saying they understood there was an issue but the only way round it was by building a roundabout halfway along the A249 and it was going to cost millions of pounds.

“It’s as dangerous as it ever has been. There are so many near accidents, and it will carry on happening unless something is done.

“It’s not a motorway, but they’re doing motorway speeds. Yet you wouldn’t have a U-turn on a motorway.

“The Stockbury roundabout is there. But there are so many different villages along the road, I understand some would have to go out of their way to get to where they want. That would be better than having an accident.”

  • Anyone with information about the latest accident should call the serious collision investigation unit on 01622 798538 quoting CAD 22-1186.
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