THREE men were killed in a head-on collision between a van and a car on a busy York road.

The crash, involving a silver Audi A4 and a white Ford Evening Press delivery van, occurred in Stockton Lane, at 12.43pm yesterday.

The two men in the car and the van driver all died instantly. No other vehicles or people were involved.

The Evening Press driver was Peter Alexander, 57, of Dringhouses, York.

The victims from the Audi have yet to be identified, but police at the scene said the car was locally-owned. It is believed one of the men was aged 37.

Police said the crash occurred after the driver of the Audi lost control, and crossed onto the wrong side of the road.

Stockton Lane was closed between its junctions with Beans Way and Hopgrove Lane South until 6.15pm.

The accident happened in a 60mph zone near Sugar Hill Farm, just east of where the speed limit switches from 30mph to 60mph.

Police at the scene said it was too soon to have any idea how fast either vehicle was going when they collided.

North Yorkshire Police's senior officer at the scene, Traffic Constable Chris Redin, said: "At 12.43pm, we got a report of a road traffic accident in Stockton Lane.

"We now know that a silver Audi car has been travelling towards York containing two young male occupants, and an Evening Press van containing one male driver has been travelling in the opposite direction.

"Currently, the investigation is looking into why the Audi has lost control and crossed over onto the Stockton-on-the-Forest-bound carriageway, colliding with the van.

"Tragically, all three occupants of the vehicles were killed instantly."

Three ambulances and two fire engines attended the crash, along with police. A fire service spokeswoman said their crews helped release the victims, but no specialist equipment had been required.

Sergeant Pete Mason, at the crash site, said he thought paramedics may have attempted resuscitation, but an ambulance spokeswoman said all three victims were dead at the scene.

After the bodies were removed and the crash site examined, recovery vehicles from Mennell Motors, in Malton, were used to put the van and car back into their positions at the moment of impact.

The van looked to have tried to swerve right to avoid hitting the car, but their front-left wings appeared to have collided and both vehicles ended up on the grass verge on the eastbound side of the road.

Anyone who witnessed the accident, or saw either vehicle immediately prior to it, should phone TC Iain Atkinson on 0845 6060247.

:: Family left 'devastated' by second loss in two weeks

THE brother of an Evening Press van driver killed in a car accident said his family had been left "devastated" by their loss.

Peter Alexander, 57, of Dringhouses, died when the delivery van he was driving was in collision with a car in Stockton Lane yesterday.

It is the second tragedy the family has faced in just two weeks.

Last week, the Evening Press told how Peter's father, 83-year-old war hero Norman Alexander, had died just a few months after he was controversially moved out of his Acomb Gables home.

Peter's brother David, 49, of Tang Hall, said the family was struggling to come to terms with their double loss.

He said: "It's a nightmare for us. I am lost for words. The whole family is devastated.

"We are just shell-shocked. It's so hard. It's going to take some sinking in, let alone getting over.

"It's even harder for us to talk about this than it was when dad died."

Norman died in David's arms at the elderly mental health unit, Cherry Tree House.

David, who also worked as a driver for the Evening Press for about seven years, led a campaign to keep the Acomb Gables facility open because he feared the change could kill his dad, who suffered from severe dementia.

David said: "We haven't even got over our one loss yet and now we are trying to cope with a second one.

"It's terrible, but at least the whole family was together one last time before this happened.

"It's such a big family that we're very rarely all together at the same time, but we came together for dad's funeral."

Peter was married with five children, and was the oldest of 10 siblings.

He was born in the Union Terrace area, grew up in Kingsway North and went to Haxby Road School and Park Grove Senior School. He was a keen motorbike enthusiast and darts player.

His sister, Denise Tomlinson, who lives in Cheshire, had been in York for her father's funeral.

She had been due to go home yesterday, but then she heard the tragic news about her brother.

She said: "I just keep thinking about when we were kids. We were so close, me and Pete.

"We always had this standing joke that I could always say 'this is my older brother' when I introduced him to anyone, because he was the only one of the ten of us that was older than me.

"He used to tell me off for not going to see him when I came to York."

She said her last memory of Peter was of him telling her off for eating cheese straws he had made just before the funeral.

Peter's family and friends will be gathering at the Crescent Working Men's Club this evening to pay their respects.

:: 'A superb ambassador for the paper'

Evening Press head of circulation and marketing Vickie Henderson paid tribute to Peter as a man well-liked by colleagues and customers. "He was a genuinely nice man, always laughing and joking, a bundle of fun with his colleagues. I've never heard a bad word about him. He got on with the job and everybody liked him. He was a superb ambassador for the paper.

"He will be sadly missed."

Brian Newlove, 66, a house agent in Bulmer for the Evening Press, said: "I'm very sad to hear about Peter. He was a very nice chap and I'm very, very sorry it has happened.

"I've known him ever since I started with the papers three years ago. He was a very nice, friendly chap - a really nice guy.

"I got on with him very, very well. He will be very sadly missed by a lot of people."

Updated: 09:22 Friday, April 21, 2006