A CYCLIST and a car driver have died within hours of each other in separate incidents on North East roads, police revealed yesterday.

The cyclist died after a collision with a car in Washington, while the driver was in a car that left the road near Newcastle Airport.

The families of both men were told of their deaths after the crashes on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old cyclist had not been named by last night. A police spokesman said the driver of the car involved in the collision was being questioned.

A worker at engineering firm Unipres UK, close to where the accident happened on Cherry Blossom Way in Usworth, said: “It wasn’t one of our workers, but it involved a cyclist on the road.

“We know a man was killed and our thoughts go out to his friends and family.”

Another worker said: “I was told by one of the security guys on the late shift here that an accident had happened. He said a cyclist had died.”

A police spokesman said yesterday: “Shortly after 10pm on Wednesday, January 25, police received a report of a collision involving a cyclist and a car in Cherry Blossom Way, near the junction with Washington Road, in Washington.

“The cyclist, a 31-year-old man, was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The road was closed for a short time. A 54-year-old man has been arrested and is currently in police custody”