A man has been charged with drink driving following a fatal collision on the A1.
The crash, between a silver Toyota Auris and a white Ford Transit van, happened at around 10.15pm on Friday on the southbound side of the A1(M) near the Newton Aycliffe junction.
The woman, who was a passenger in the Auris, was taken to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, with serious injuries but died after arrival.
Two other male passengers in the Auris were also taken to hospital where they remain.
One is seriously injured while the other is described as in a stable condition.
The female driver of the Auris and an 11-year-old boy were taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital but have since been discharged.
The 34-year-old driver of the Transit van was arrested at the scene and later charged with a number of offences.
He was remanded in custody to appear at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Monday to face one count of drink driving, three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, one count of aggravated vehicle taking and one count of driving without insurance.
A spokeswoman for Durham Constabulary said: "Officers would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the collision, or saw the vehicles being driven beforehand. They would also like to hear from anyone who may have dashcam footage of the collision, or the lead up to it.
"Please contact Durham Constabulary on 101, quoting incident number 556 of August 2 with any information."
