Crash victim, 53, 'had so much more to give'

A woman who died following a car crash on her way to a music concert "had so much more to give", her father has said.

Donna Crossman, 53, was walking to a Take That gig at Bristol's Ashton Gate stadium in June 2024 when a car collided with her group.

Her father, Steve Price, has spoken out as figures showed the number of deaths and serious injuries on Bristol's roads is at its highest in more than a decade.

Fiona Hodges, 69, has been charged with causing death by careless driving and is due to stand trial at Bristol Crown Court on 13 April.

The most recent data available suggests 133 people were killed or seriously injured on Bristol's roads in 2024.

Police say the increase in serious collisions is due to higher numbers of cars, cyclists and pedestrians.

Price said his daughter was "perfect" and "adventurous".

Throughout her impressive career, Crossman served for almost two decades in the RAF, rising in the legal and administration departments, and spent a similar length of time in the fire service.

While at the RAF, she was seconded to work at the Pentagon near Washington DC – the US defence department headquarters – and also at Nato headquarters in Brussels.

She was the manager of Wales women's rugby team, leading the squad to a triple crown victory in 2009, before going on to manage the Welsh national netball team.

Her father said she had also qualified as a round-the-world RAF yacht crew member.

"She was wonderful, so caring, so loving… I know everybody says that about their kids, but she really was," he said.

"She had a good life, she put a lot in, but she had so much more to give. Her circle of friends is massive and it's affecting everyone."

Crossman and her friends were walking on the A370 Brunel Way at the time of the crash.

Her father said he was watching a Manchester United match when Crossman's husband called to tell him she was in hospital.

"He was just in pieces on the phone to us, it was hard to understand," he said.

The family arrived in Bristol at around 22:30 BST, and Donna died at around midnight. "It's still not registered," Price said. "I wouldn't wish it on anybody."

He said he continues to have nightmares following the tragedy.

"They say time's a great healer, I don't find that," he said. "I can remember it like it was yesterday."

Avon and Somerset Roads Policing Inspector Matt Boiles said the increase in serious collisions was due to "increased traffic" in Bristol.

He described a "perfect storm" of more cars on the road along with more pedestrians, cyclists and e-scooter riders, meaning there has been an increase in the number of vulnerable road users.

Boiles said that an increase in use of noise-cancelling headphones and earphones also meant a rise in distractions.

He said enforcement of speed limits, better education and more use of technology in vehicles could help to reduce the number of accidents.

But he added: "Road safety is everybody's responsibility.

"Recognise your own driving manner, your own riding manner, how you walk, how you cross the road, and if you go back to basics then you can help keep the roads safe."

The 2024 figure for people killed or seriously injured on Bristol's roads is the highest since 2012, when Bristol City Council introduced 20mph zones on many residential roads.

The council is now consulting on extending the 20mph limit to a further 97 roads, including arteries such as Coronation Road and Falcondale Road.

Reducing speed generally reduces the severity of incidents.

The council's Ed Plowden said speed limits were a "fundamental plank" of its road safety strategy.

The roads that could be made 20mph make up a small proportion of the network but account for 30% of serious casualties, according to the council.

"A lot of these are about half a mile in length, so you're adding five or 10 seconds to your journey, which isn't a great deal for the sake of much better safety," Plowden said.

However, opposition councillor Mark Weston previously said the plans to include certain main roads made "absolutely no sense".

He added that some drivers may divert on to "unsuitable" residential streets to avoid congestion.

Local authorities must try to reach zero avoidable deaths or serious injuries on their roads by 2036, under the West of England Combined Authority's joint local transport plan.

Three years ago, Bristol City Council voted in favour of bringing forward this target to 2030.

Plowden admitted he did not think the city would meet the 2030 goal but added: "It's about having a vision and working towards it."

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