The dad of a woman whose life was claimed in a crash on the A1 in Northumberland on the way home from a family campervan holiday has praised “heroic” attempts to save his daughter’s life.
Nature lover Josie Crocker, 26, had spent the week holidaying with her family in their VW Transporter campervan in Dunbar, Scotland. It was one of many trips the Crockers had made north of their Northallerton home, in North Yorkshire, with Josie particularly loving a walk on Northumberland’s “wild and empty beaches”.
As they travelled south, their vehicle was involved in a crash near the Haggerston junction when a Citroen C3 Picasso travelling northbound veered into the southbound lane, causing a head on collision. Josie’s dad, Steve Crocker, told ChronicleLive that people in surrounding cars rushed to give the family aid, with one man holding Josie’s airway open to keep her breathing until emergency services could take over, reports Chronicle Live.
Sadly, Josie died at the scene despite the best efforts of other motorists and medics. At an inquest held at Northumberland Coroners’ Court on Tuesday, the medical cause of her death was given as fatal injuries from the collision, with Leslie Charles Stewart, the driver of the oncoming vehicle, who also lost his life, having fallen asleep at the wheel.
On the formal record of inquest, Northumberland assistant coroner Thomas Crookes wrote: “On 31 May 2024 Josie Kate Crocker was a rear passenger in a vehicle which was travelling south on the A1 road between the Cheswick and Haggerston junctions in Northumberland. A northbound vehicle drifted into the southbound lane.
“Although the driver of her vehicle started to brake, the other driver did not take evasive action as a result of momentarily falling asleep leading to a head on collision. Josie Kate Crocker sustained multiple injuries from the impact and, despite medical intervention, died at the scene of the collision on the A1 near Haggerston.”
Paying tribute to his daughter, Steve said: “Josie was a dearly loved member of our family and we miss her greatly every day. She had a special bond with her sister, Theadora.
“Josie was 26 years old and had a great love of learning and interest in education. She had degrees in Psychology in Education and Psycholinguistics from the University of York.
“Josie was a creative soul and enjoyed painting and weaving, taking her inspiration from the beauty of nature in which she loved to be immersed.
“We especially remember fondly the times spent away in our campervan as a family and walking along wild and empty beaches in Northumberland and other areas of the UK. Josie gave freely of her time to help others and created websites and newsletters for charities and organisations with which she was involved.
“We would like to thank every member of the emergency services and the public who did their very best to keep her alive on the day of the accident.”
Steve, who was badly injured in the collision, added that the inquest had helped to give his family closure. He said: “It’s very hard when you get badly injured to understand what happened. It was very good at filling in the gaps and helping us to understand the heroic attempts by people in the cars around us and the medics to revive Josie.”
However, Josie’s death has left a massive hole in their family. He finished: “It’s about getting used to a new normal now. She lived with us so she was with us all the time. It was hard going through last year and Christmas when we’re not used to having her here with us.”