A MAN died when his car crashed and dropped down an embankment on the A4061 Rhigos Mountain Road.
The 32-year-old man from the Rhondda was pronounced dead at the scene, after his silver Mitsubishi car left the carriageway above Treherbert at around 11.30pm last night.
Another man aged 46, also from the Rhondda area, sustained slight injuries and is under observation in hospital.
South Wales Police are appealing for any witnesses to the crash, or anyone having information about the incident to contact 02920 222111, their local police station or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
A PASSENGER died after the car he was travelling in left a mountain road at an accident blackspot.
The silver Mitsubishi vehicle came off the A4061 Rhigos Road, just north of Treherbert, and plunged down an embankment.
A spokesman for South Wales Police said a 32-year-old man suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Local reports indicate the man lived in the Rhondda and is of Chinese origin and was in the passenger seat, rather than driving the vehicle.
A second man, aged 46, suffered minor injuries in the crash and was last night being treated at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, in Llantrisant.
The A4061, which runs from Tynewydd, at the top of the Rhondda Fawr valley, to Rhigos in the Cynon Valley, has become known as an accident blackspot in recent years.
Gaynor Griffiths, who runs a newsagent on Gwendoline Street, Treherbert, with husband Peter said the road is “notorious” for crashes.
“It seems like an accident happens there every few weeks, especially when it rains,” she said.
In October 2006 a 21-year-old father of one died after his Suzuki motorcycle swerved into the path of an oncoming car.
Then, in July last year, a 31-year-old Treherbert man died after crashing his Renault Clio on the road.
Just a month before, married couple Gwyn and Leigh Jones had said they felt lucky to be alive after their red Citroen plunged down an embankment at the roadside.
Police told the pair, from Tynewydd, that a branch from a nearby tree could have killed them if it had been just an inchlower.
Efforts are being made to make the road safer.
Earlier this month Coun Andrew Morgan – Rhondda Cynon Taf’s cabinet member for transport – announced a £4m programme of road improvements that includes £70,000 to upgrade the Rhigos Road.
It is believed only one car was involved in this latest accident, which happened late on Thursday night.
Glamorgan Valleys Coroner Peter Maddox is expected to open and adjourn an inquest on Tuesday.
Police are appealing for eyewitnesses to come forward.
Anyone with information should contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, at Gwaelod-y-Garth, on 02920 633438.
Alternatively, they can visit their local police station or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
