A man will appear at court today following a collision in which a woman sadly died. 

The collision happened at around 10.15pm on Friday (August 2) on the southbound side of the A1(M) near the Newton Aycliffe junction.

It involved a silver Toyota Auris and a white Ford Transit van.

The woman, who was a passenger in the Auris, was taken to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, with serious injuries but sadly passed away.

Two other male passengers in the Auris were also taken to hospital where they remain. One is seriously injured while the other is described as stable.

The female driver of the Auris and an 11-year-old boy were taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital but have since been discharged.

The 34-year-old driver of the Transit van was arrested at the scene and later charged with a number of offences.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court today to face one count of drink driving, three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, one count of aggravated vehicle taking and one count of driving without insurance.

Officers would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the collision, or saw the vehicles being driven beforehand. They would also like to hear from anyone who may have dashcam footage of the collision, or the lead up to it.

Please contact Durham Constabulary on 101, quoting incident number 556 of August 2 with any information.