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12
Jan
Police officer was helping out off-duty when she and Knaresborough man were killed
The police officer who died along with a Knaresborough man when they were struck by a lorry was helping while off duty, it has emerged today.
PC Rosie Prior and Ryan Welford, 41, were killed at the scene of the collision on the A19 at Bagby, near Thirsk yesterday morning (January 11).
North Yorkshire Police said in a statement PC Prior pulled over to help other motorists who had been in a collision involving a silver Audi driven by Mr Welford and a black Ford Focus.
A teenage boy in Mr Welford’s car was left in a serious condition in hospital. The HGV driver, a 65-year-old man from Berwick-upon-Tweed, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and later released under investigation.
Talking about the incident today, North Yorkshire’s chief constable Tim Forber said PC Prior, a response officer based at York, was off duty when the incident occurred at about 8.55am.
He said:
She joined the police because she wanted to help people.
Yesterday morning she wasn't on duty on a shift, she was off duty, and she came across a road traffic collision on the A19 just south of Thirsk, and she stopped and got out to help.
And it was whilst doing that that she was tragically killed.
PC Rosie Prior
'Helping others was part of her DNA'
Chief constable Forber said PC Prior’s death had “devastated her loved ones and her family” as well as her colleagues at North Yorkshire Police.
He said PC Prior, who had been a police officer for two-and-a-half years, “epitomises the very best of British policing”, adding:
She put the safety of others before her own safety. Helping others was part of her DNA.
We're doing everything that we can to support Rosie's family, as well as Ryan's family, and to support her colleagues here in North Yorkshire Police who are understandably absolutely devastated by her death.
We'll continue to wrap around the organisation. We'll also make sure that Rosie's memory is never forgotten.
Chief constable Forber urged witnesses to the collision, which occurred on the A19, in the Bagby area about a mile south of Thirsk, to get in touch. He said: “It may be vital information for our investigation into what happened.”
Anyone with information or dashcam footage can email mcit@northyorkshire.police.uk, quoting reference number 12250006038.
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