Police seek driver who caused m-way crash
Aug 17 2006 By The Journal
Police accident investigators are searching for a Range Rover driver who caused a high-speed motorway crash in County Durham.
The motorist, believed to be in his 50s or 60s, calmly stopped at a slip road to examine the damage to his own vehicle before driving away again, leaving a silver Vauxhall Astra and an X-type Jaguar smashed in his wake.
Police said both motorists, from the south of England, were "extremely fortunate" to escape serious injury.
The crash happened at around 10am underneath the Newton Aycliffe junction on the A1 motorway northbound.
The Range Rover had veered from the fast lane to the slow lane before cutting out again, clipping the Astra.
The Astra was pushed into the central reservation back on to the carriageway, hitting the Jaguar.
Accident investigator PC Nick Prest said the driver of the old-style olive green Range Rover pulled up at a slip-road further along the motorway, got out to inspect the damage on his vehicle before driving off again.
PC Prest said: "The vehicles collided at speeds of around 70 miles per hour and both the Jaguar and the Astra driver were extremely fortunate to escape serious injury," he added.
He said the registration of the Range Rover began with the letter K, followed by three unknown numbers, but then included the letters MUF. Any witnesses or anybody with information on the identity of the driver should ring police on 0845 60 60 365.
