KEVIN Cowl was told to go out and buy a Lottery ticket after escaping with his life when his small Renault Clio ploughed into a lorry at about 50mph.

The accident happened at 5.45am when Kevin was on his way from Selby to York to pick up a colleague before driving on to Sheffield where he works as an excavation plant operator.

He said, if his colleague had already been in the seat beside him, he would have died as he threw himself into the front passenger seat seconds before the collision.

The 29-year-old from Fangfoss was the lucky driver to survive the crash on the A19 which forced police to close that section of road for about an hour on Wednesday and divert traffic through Cawood.

As reported, the Renault was crushed by the 44-tonne Volvo articulated truck which was on the A19 at Deighton, near the White Swan pub, at the time.

Kevin said: "I left Selby at 5.30am to go to York to pick a colleague up. I went through Escrick and was just leaving the other side when I came round by the White Swan pub, and a lorry was performing a U-turn on a bend.

"As he swung round, his headlights were pointing across the field so by the time I saw his lights it was too late. I braked. The ABS came on. The car wasn't going to stop. At the last second I put my head down. I wouldn't have been able to do that if my colleague had been next to me as I put my head down across the passenger seat. Then I hit the trailer of the lorry."

Kevin said he was travelling at about 50mph when he saw the lorry in the road, and immediately feared for his life.

"The police gave a collision speed of 30mph judging by the damage to the car. It is destroyed.

"I was thinking what am I going to do? I am not going to stop in time'. When I saw him it was too late. By the time my foot was on my brake I was nearly hitting him. It is a blind bend because of the way the pub is situated on your left."

Afterwards he kicked the door to get out.

"The fireman told me I was really lucky to escape alive, and to go and buy a Lottery ticket!"

"From the windscreen to the back of the front seat, the car was level with the top of the door. It was flattened."

Kevin escaped relatively unscathed.

"I am right as rain. It makes you glad to be alive. I have a few cuts on the back of my head, a few bumps and bruises, a bit of whiplash. The ambulance driver said I was fit enough not to go to hospital."

Kevin was at the scene for about an hour, but did not have time to feel shock as he was concentrating on the other driver.

"The driver of the lorry was cut-up about it.

"He thought he had killed someone as you would expect from that sort of collision.

"I was telling him it was alright, that no one had died. It is only metal and plastic. I wasn't really concerned about how I felt apart from feeling fantastic about being alive."

* Police were forced to close one lane of the main road between York and Selby after a crash involving five cars.

The accident happened just after 7.45am yesterday on the A19 at Escrick, with the northbound lane of the road being shut and drivers having to look for alternative routes while the damaged vehicles were towed away.

It involved a blue Vauxhall Corsa, a blue Ford Escort van, a silver Ford Ka, a black Ford Fiesta and a silver Ford Focus.

An ambulance was called to the scene and several people were treated for minor injuries, including whiplash. Nobody was seriously hurt.

The section of the A19 remained closed northbound until after 9.30am yesterday.

The cause of the crash is not yet known.


A19 safety protest

NEWS of the crash comes as Selby MP John Grogan prepares to back a campaign from Deighton residents for improvements to the A19.

The residents want to make access from the village on to the A19 both easier and safer.

Mr Grogan will join parish councillors members, Coun Christian Vassie and residents outside the White Swan Inn tomorrow to urge City of York Council to include the scheme on its list of works for the 2008/09 financial year.

Mr Grogan said: "Many residents find it very difficult to drive their cars from the village on to the busy A19, particularly during the rush hour. Some villagers are also deterred from using bus services due to the difficulty they have in crossing the road into Deighton from the opposite side."