This is the moment a van driver had a ‘miracle escape’ yesterdaywhen he ploughed 50ft off a bridge and onto traffic on a busy MOTORWAY.
The man suffered minor injuries after he lost control of his Ford Mondeo and careered off a bridge and onto the southbound carriageway of the M42 near Coleshill, Warwickshire, at 1.45pm.
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “It appears that a vehicle has left the A452 bridge which crosses the M42 between junction 7 and 6 and landed on the carriageway.
“One man has been injured in the incident and has been taken to hospital by ambulance.
“He appears to be the only casualty at the moment.”
The crash caused five-mile tail-backs as police closed both lanes of the motorway while emergency services cleared debris from the carriageway.
Motorists watched in horror as the truck plunged onto the motorway.
One driver said: “What appears to have happened is the driver either lost control when he clipped the kerb as he went round the roundabout, smashed through the barriers and onto the vehicles below.
“It smashed through the back of a white van and also hit a Ford Mondeo.
“It was a miracle no one was killed because the motorway was rammed with traffic.
“The van must have gone 50ft off the bridge onto the traffic below.”
The van driver, who has not been named, was taken to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire by ambulance.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “Crews arrived to find a van which had come off the A452 bridge, approximately 30ft above, and landed on the carriageway of the motorway colliding with a lorry and a car.
“The driver of the van, a man in his 20s, was lying on the carriageway and being cared for by bystanders. He had suffered significant head and abdominal injuries. Due to the nature of the man’s injuries, the doctors decided to anaesthetise him on scene to help stabilise his serious condition.
“The medics and crews worked as a team to deliver emergency treatment before immobilising the man with a neck collar and spinal board.
“Two men from the lorry suffered from the effects of shock and minor injuries and a man from the car suffered back pain in the collision. All three were checked over by ambulance staff and a medic but did not require hospital treatment.
“The motorway was closed in both directions at the time to enable the air ambulance to land on the carriageway. The southbound carriageway remains closed following the incident.”
