A father, his two teen children and their dog have been killed in a ‘horror movie’ crash, after being mowed down by a suspected drink driver on Father’s Day.

A 47-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of three counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one of drink driving after the family were killed during a walk on Sunday.

Police and paramedics rushed to Abbey Road in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, at around 2.30 pm on Sunday, June 21st, 2020.

But despite the efforts of emergency responders, three people died at the scene.

It’s believed those who died are a dad and his two teenage children, as well as a family dog.

The driver suffered injuries that are not believed to be serious or life-threatening.

Witness Ian Singleton, who saw paramedics trying to save the victims, said on Facebook:

I was literally five to ten minutes from being involved on my bike.

Turned up at the scene and it was like a horror movie. I’m still shook up at what I saw. My thoughts go out to the family involved.

One woman living near the crash scene said:

There’s an intense sadness.

It’s horrific and it just feels heavy. We’re in disbelief.

Whenever something like that happened would be awful but I think the fact it was Father’s Day just multiplied everything.

Her partner, who did not want to be named, said:

After I noticed the police I went to the top of the drive and looked down.

I didn’t see the driver of the car but the door to the car was open and it had hit a tree.

There were emergency vehicles everywhere, police and ambulances, and the fire brigade came down later.

This morning, markings from police investigations could be seen on the road and pavement, damaged temporary railings were on the roadside and a mark could be seen at the base of a tree.

One couple left flowers on the tree in tribute to the victims.

Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said:

I was listening to the radio so I had no idea what had happened until later but I know my neighbour was celebrating their 70th birthday and heard the bang from the crash.

It was a big shock.

One resident said:

It is a terrible, terrible thing.

Chief Superintendent Rob O’Connor from Cumbria Police has this morning told the BBC that the three people killed were walking on a footpath at Ruskinville Bridge when they were hit by a silver Peugeot 206.

The car was being driven east from Barrow to Dalton, a journey of some 39 miles, at about 2.30 pm.

A spokesman for Cumbria Police said:

The family are currently being supported by our family liaison officers.

Officers are urging anyone who might have witnessed the incident or the vehicle in the area to contact T/PS 2265 Jack Stabler (Serious Collision Investigation Unit) – SCIU@Cumbria.police.uk or call 101 referencing incident 124 of June 6 2020.

Officers are also keen to hear from anyone who may have dashcam footage which may have captured the collision or the moments immediately before or after.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.