West Yorkshire Police received a report just after 5pm yesterday (Wednesday) of a collision involving a female pedestrian and a HGV on Harrogate Road, near Killinghall Road.
A short while later, police received reports that the body of woman had been found on Neville Road in East Bowling.
Sadly, the 77-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
LIVE BLOG: What we know so far after police find woman’s body in Bradford
Police enquiries revealed they believe the woman was “carried” by the vehicle to Neville Road.
A 55-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of death by dangerous driving.
He has since been bailed.
‘I’ve never come across anything like this before’
Councillor Imran Khan, who represents the Bowling and Barkerend ward, described the incident as “quite scary”.
He said: “I’ve never come across anything like this before.
“I’m shocked and horrified by what happened. It’s a horrific accident.
“My heart goes out to the victim and her family.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to them.
“It’s really sad when someone loses their life in a tragic way.
“I feel for the family and the victim.”
‘Absolutely shocking’
Councillor Rizwana Jamil, who also represents Bowling and Barkerend ward, said: “It’s absolutely shocking that something like this has happened. It’s unbelievable.
“I’d like to send my sincere condolences to the friends and family of the lady.
“We’re here to support them in any way.
“Anybody who saw anything or has any footage, I urge them to contact the police.
“Their enquiries will get to the bottom of what happened and hopefully will give the family some closure.”
A body was found on Neville Road in East Bowling after a collision (Image: Newsquest)
Other councillors express condolences
Bolton and Undercliffe ward councillor Julie Humphreys described the incident as “shocking and devastating”.
She said: “I’m shocked and saddened to hear about this incident.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the family of this lady.
“I urge anyone to get in touch with police to help their investigation.”
Another Bolton and Undercliffe ward councillor, Cllr Suhail Choudhry, said: “I’m deeply saddened by the loss of this woman.
“My condolences go out to her family.
“My thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time.
“I urge anyone to get in contact the police to assist with their investigation.”
Community in shock
The T&A visited the scenes at Neville Road and Harrogate Road on Thursday morning.
A spokesperson for one local business told the T&A: “We’re shocked to hear it.
“It’s sad to have anybody lose their life to an incident.”
Many other local businesses in the Neville Road area had closed by 5pm and were unaware that a body had been discovered.
One business owner said: “We’ve not seen anything. We were gone by then.”
Another also said they were closed before the police cordon went up.
One person said it was “so sad”.
Another business owner said: “It’s a bit shocking. We don’t assume these things happen.”
Two businesses near the Harrogate Road junction were aware a police cordon had been put up at the scene last night.
A person at one business said: “We were open but I wasn’t here so I had no idea what happened.”
Another business owner said: “We heard about it but we didn’t know what happened as we were closed.”
Full police statement
In a statement on Thursday, a spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “Police are appealing for witnesses after a fatal road traffic collision in Bradford.
“Officers were called at around 5.20pm yesterday (Wednesday, April 15) to reports that a pedestrian was in collision with an HGV on Harrogate Road towards Killinghall Road.
“A short while later officers received a call that the body of a woman has been found on Neville Road.
“Sadly, the 77-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Extensive enquiries are ongoing by the Major Collision Enquiry Team.
“From our enquiries we believe that the woman involved in the collision was carried by the vehicle to Neville Road.
“Police then received reports about a body being found at that location.
“A man aged 55 was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He has since been bailed pending further enquiries.”
Police issue appeal
Detective Inspector Paul Conroy from MCET said: “This is an extremely upsetting incident involving an elderly pedestrian in Bradford.
“Our thoughts go out to the family who are being supported by specially trained officers.
“I am appealing to anyone who was in the Harrogate Road/Killinghall Road area who may have dash cam footage of the HGV or the pedestrian at the traffic lights to come forward.
“We understand there were several vehicles in the area at the time of the collision who may have witnessed it, we are keen to speak to the driver of a red Ford Max, a grey Skoda SUV, a silver Toyota and a white SUV.
“We are also keen to speak to anyone who saw the HGV after the road traffic collision driving towards Neville Road.”
Anyone with information or dash cam is asked to contact police via 101 or use the live chat options at www.westyorkshire.police.uk/livechat quoting log number 1331.