Man arrested over road death

Jan 22 2008 By Graeme Whitfield

A man has been arrested after a driver died in a car crash in Sunderland.

The accident happened on the A19 southbound, half a mile past the A1231 junction, when a Ford Escort was involved in a collision with a black BMW.

Both cars then went off the road and the driver of the Escort was pronounced dead at the scene, Northumbria Police said.

The BMW driver, a 39-year-old Gateshead man, was arrested at Sunderland Royal Hospital on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

He is currently being treated for chest injuries and remains in hospital.

The Escort driver, a man in his 20s from the Sunderland area, is not being named at present.

The road was closed for seven hours while police investigated the crash.