Driver killed after van and lorry crash head-on

Aug 8 2008 by Paul James, The Journal

A VAN driver was killed yesterday in a head-on road smash on the A69 in Northumberland. The man, thought to be in his 20s, was driving towards Hexham when his white van crashed into an articulated lorry heading towards Carlisle.

Police, paramedics, firefighters and a helicopter were all called out just before 10am to the scene, at Bardon Mill.

The lorry driver, a 49-year-old man working for haulage firm E & N Farrer, based at Carlisle Airport, was out of his vehicle by the time 999 crews arrived.

As he was being treated by paramedics the three fire crews fought to cut the van driver free from his vehicle. Last night he had not been named by police.

But he was pronounced dead at the scene and taken to the mortuary at Hexham General Hospital.

Police closed the road for five hours as accident investigators assessed the scene, near the garage at Henshaw.

The white van came to rest on the wrong side of a stretch of the A69 where red markings warn drivers not to overtake.

Ahead of the scene of the crash is a junction where west-bound traffic can turn right across the Hexham-bound lane.

Diversions were put in place by police for traffic heading in both directions until 3.15pm when the road reopened.

The lorry driver was treated at the scene. Around an hour after the crash was reported, he was airlifted in a 15-minute journey to Carlisle Infirmary.

Ambulance crews said he was suffering head, arm and back injuries but it is not thought they are life-threatening.

Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service last night said that three crews had attended the scene of the accident, from Hexham, Haydon Bridge and Haltwhistle.

They used specialist cutting equipment to help free the van driver before making both vehicles safe, as police surveyed the road, driving conditions and the wreckages of the lorry and van.

The North East Ambulance Service said a community paramedic from Haltwhistle and a paramedic crew from Hexham attended, along with the Air Support Helicopter from Otterburn.