AN ELDERLY motorist may have fallen ill at the wheel of his car before crashing into a tree in a village near York.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was taken to York Hospital after the fatal accident, which happened just before 1pm yesterday in The Village, Wigginton, close to the junction with Moor Lane.

Police said he was pronounced dead at the hospital, and it was possible he had been taken ill before the crash. They said a female passenger was deeply shocked, but unhurt.

The man's Toyota Corolla left the road on a slight bend and went through three gardens before crashing into the side of a tree. The road was closed after the crash, with traffic diverted, but re-opened by mid-afternoon.

Witness Daniel Martell, who owns one of the affected gardens, said he had been working on a window sill at his home when he saw the car approaching the bend, and then indicating to go left.

He then saw it mount the pavement and accelerate slightly before going across the garden.

He said the road suffered increasingly from "boy racers" who took the bend too quickly, but this was definitely not such a case.

"Some people have reached 50mph by the time they reach here, but he was only going at about 15-20 miles an hour," he said.

Mr Martell said he understood that the passenger in the car had said afterwards that her husband had been pulling into the side of the road after feeling ill when the accident happened.

Police today appealed for witnesses to phone 0845 60 60 247.

Updated: 09:42 Tuesday, November 29, 2005