A HORROR crash has claimed the life of a 20-year-old Huddersfield woman and left a 10-year-old girl injured.

The fatal smash happened on Huddersfield Road in Kirkburton at around 8.30pm on Thursday night.

Fire crews and ambulances raced to the scene near to the junction of Cross Lane – just below the Oddfellows pub.

The road was closed for several hours while specialist accident investigators closely examined the scene to try to pinpoint the cause.

The road did not re-open until 1.15 on Friday morning.

Last night, floral tributes to the victim were left at the roadside.

They bore poignant messages from friends and relatives of the victim.

She has not yet been named, but police confirmed she was a local woman.

The tragedy happened when a silver Toyota Yaris – believed to be travelling down the hill from Shelley – was in a head-on crash with a black and silver Mitsubishi pick-up travelling the other way.

The young woman driving the Toyota was taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, but sadly died later from her injuries.

It is understood she was badly trapped in the wreckage and had to be freed by firefighters.

A specialist trauma team from Huddersfield Royal Infirmary was called to the scene, and they did all they could to save her life.

The driver of the pick-up – a man in his 30s – suffered injuries to his foot.

His 10-year-old daughter travelling with him was also slightly injured and taken to the Royal Infirmary for treatment.

Fire crews from Huddersfield, Skelmanthorpe and Holmfirth were called to help victims at the scene.

Richard Meakin, watch manager at Skelmanthorpe fire station, said: “When we got there the pick-up was on its side and the Yaris had major frontal impact damage.

“Our priority was to extricate the female who was trapped.

“The other driver was fine, with just slight injuries to his foot.

“We advised him to get his daughter checked out because she was so young.”

He said the cause of the crash was still being investigated, but added that road conditions that night were slippery.

“We did comment how slippery the road surfaces were while we travelling to the crash from the fire station at Skelmanthorpe,” he said.

“There has been a lot of salt put on, then rain, but we won’t know if that was to blame until the police have finished their investigation.”

Kirkburton councillor Christine Smith expressed her condolences to the 20-year-old’s family.

But she said, generally speaking, drivers often broke the 40mph speed limit on that stretch of road between Shelley and Kirkburton.

She said: “It is a stretch of road where people do tend to put their foot down from where the 30mph zone at the bottom of Shelley ends to where it starts again at Kirkburton.

“This is such a tragic loss of life – it is terrible.”

Sgt Paul Denton from Huddersfield traffic police said: “This was clearly a very serious incident and inquiries are still ongoing to find the reason for the collision.

“The young woman was coming down the hill from Shelley towards Kirkburton and the other vehicle was travelling in the opposite direction.

“It is quite a high speed collision – the Yaris hit a wall after the original impact.

“The young lady’s family is distraught at what has happened and we do not expect her to be named until early next week.”

They have appealed for witnesses to come forward as part of their investigation into the tragic accident.

Anyone who saw the crash or who has any information about the vehicles should contact Huddersfield traffic police on 01484 436847.