Four taken to hospital after lorry smashes in fog on A69

Jan 20 2010 by Sara Nichol, The Journal

FOUR people were taken to hospital after a lorry crashed in thick fog on a busy main road.

Commuters faced rush-hour chaos as the A69 was closed to traffic in both directions after the heavy goods vehicle smashed into three cars.

Police, paramedics and the fire service attended the accident, which happened shortly after 7am, between the A6085 Ponteland Road and B6528 in Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland.

The Spar shop lorry smashed through the central reservation before colliding with a Ford Fiesta, a BMW and a Saab, blocking both carriageways of the road.

Traffic was diverted through Heddon-on-the-Wall causing it to back up all the way to the A1 as the emergency services dealt with the vehicles and casualties. Firefighters were called from nearby stations to help clear the debris and help free people from the car wreckages.

Four people – three men and one woman – were taken to Newcastle General Hospital with injuries that were described as non-life-threatening.

One man suffered head and chest injuries.

The other casualties, a man and woman in their 50s and a man in his early 20s, were later discharged.

Commuters were stuck on the A69 for up to an hour-and-a-half after the pile-up.