Man arrested following hit and run in Norden

A man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of causing the death of a woman by dangerous driving following a collision on Edenfield Road in Norden yesterday (Sunday 19 December).

The man presented himself at a police station in Bury earlier today and was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

The woman - believed to be in her 60s - was struck by a car just before 5pm on Edenfield Road, close to the junction with Elmsfield Avenue.

The car - believed to be a grey Mercedes or Audi - failed to stop.

Emergency services attended and the woman was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

Chief Superintedent Mark Dexter, of GMP's Specialist Operations Unit that oversees road policing, has asked for road users to be considerate of one another to avoid any other dreadful incidents - especially in the build up to Christmas.

He said: "This weekend has been a terrible one for so many people after a number of serious incidents on our roads in the week before Christmas.

"Between Friday and the early hours of Monday, our officers responded to six fatalities across Greater Manchester - including a 10-year-old child. Our thoughts are clearly with the families and friends of those that have died this weekend.

"That's six families that our officers had to give this most traumatic news to, and six families who will be lost without a loved one just days before Christmas - a time of year that should be full of joy.

"All of these incidents remain subject to ongoing investigations, and we have a specialist officers dedicated to supporting the families of all those that tragically lost their lives this weekend.

"One fatality on the roads of Greater Manchester is one too many, and I urge people getting behind the wheel this week to think about each of those six families and how your actions could result in another family having to suffer.

"If you have any information about any of the incidents over the weekend, then please call our Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0161 856 4741. Thank you."

The three Norden ward councillors, Peter Winkler, James Gartside and Michael Holly, have also issued the following statement: "Yesterday evening a tragic incident took place in Norden Village where a member of the public sadly lost their life when they were hit by a vehicle at approximately 5pm on Edenfield Road, close to the junction of Elmsfield Avenue. Emergency services attended the incident, but a lady was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Our thoughts and prayers, and those of the village, are with the family at this extremely sad time. We also wish to extend gratitude to emergency responders who attended the incident and worked into the night for several hours.

"Many residents have already expressed their upset at this incident and have asked what can be done to ensure that a tragedy like this cannot happen again. The full circumstances and details of the incident have not yet been released by Greater Manchester Police, but we will be speaking to them in due course. 

"We will, of course, be ensuring that any useful footage from our village CCTV cameras is made available to investigating officers.