AN elderly couple from Haslemere died when their car was in collision with two other vehicles on the A286. Fred Price, 82, and Diana Price, 80, of Park Road, died following the accident last Thursday morning on Bell Road (A286) at Kingsley Green outside the former Shrimptons Restaurant. Mr and Mrs Price were travelling in their Peugeot 406 on the southbound carriageway just after 11 am when it was in collision with a Mercedes Sprinter van and a Ford Fiesta, which were travelling in the opposite direction. The couple were freed from their car and taken to St Richard's Hospital in Chichester where they died. The driver of the food delivery van, a 43-year-old man from Middlesex, was also injured and was freed by fire crews. He was taken to hospital and is recovering. The occupants of the Fiesta were uninjured. Sussex Police is appealing for witnesses to the crash, which forced the closure of A286 and diversions until 5-30 pm. Officers would like to hear from anyone who saw the collision or who saw the vehicles shortly before the accident. An inquest has been opened and adjourned by coroners at Chichester. Last Thursday's accident was one of two serious collisions on the A286 between Midhurst and Haslemere in the past week. Four teenagers were injured following a crash on the A286 at Henley Hill south of Fernhurst in the early hours of Sunday morning. At around 12-20 am, their Vauxhall Nova was travelling north when it left the road, crashed into a tree and rebounded onto the road. The 19-year-old male driver from Rogate and a 19- year-old male passenger from Nyewood, near Petersfield, received slight injuries and were taken to St Richard's Hospital for treatment. Two girls, a 15-year-old from Haslemere and a 16- year-old from Midhurst, were taken to St Richard's and then transferred to Southampton General Hospital with spinal injuries. The accidents have sparked fresh calls for highways engineers to re-examine the safety of the well- used road. The scene of last week's fatal accident, just north of the junction with Hatch Lane, is close to where an 18-year old man from Liphook died in a head-on crash in 2003. Commander Keith Evans from the Kingsley Green Society has been campaigning for traffic calming and a reduction in the speed limit on the blind double bend leading to Fernhurst for a number of years. He told The Herald that he was amazed that the stretch of road has failed to warrant measures to slow traffic. However, West Sussex County Council's cabinet member for highways and transport, Lieutenant Colonel Tex Pemberton, explained that, excluding last week's accident, there has been one fatal accident on bend within a 500-metre radius over the past five years. This means that the road not does meet the criteria for a speed reduction. He explained that the condition of the road has been checked by engineers. He said that once the cause of last week's fatal accident was known, council officers can judge whether any new steps are needed. The councillor for the Fernhurst division added: "I hope that we never qualify for speed cameras in that area, if we did it would mean that the accident rate was a lot higher." However, Lt Col Pemberton also said that measures were in the pipeline to slow traffic on other areas of the A286 including Henley Hill. He explained that Fernhurst Parish Council had been consulted over possible measures on the road between Fernhurst and Easebourne and its views were being considered by West Sussex County Council. The council's road safety engineers told The Herald that a firm proposal of speed reduction measures was in the process of being put together. This could include the extension of the current 50 mph speed limit, improved signage and flashing speed signs warning motorists to slow down. • Anyone with any information about either accident is asked to contact officers at the road policing department in Chichester on 0845 60 70 999.