Chaos as car overturns near Burnt Tree Island
A car overturned on a busy route through Dudley, causing traffic chaos for rush hour drivers who faced long tailbacks.
The Vauxhall Astra hit the central reservation and collided with a Mini on Birmingham Road between the Burnt Tree junction and Castlegate Island. A cyclist was also involved in the crash, which happened at 3.20pm yesterday near the Village Hotel.
The drivers of both vehicles – one was a heavily pregnant woman – and the cyclist suffered minor injuries and were all taken to hospital.
The road was shut in both directions but was reopened on the Dudley-bound side after an hour. The other carriageway was then opened at about 5.30pm. Queues stretched back along Birmingham New Road in both directions, towards Wolverhampton and Birmingham, while Dudley town centre became clogged with traffic.
William Branniff, aged 32, drove past the scene just after the crash had happened. The office worker, of Bearwood, said: "There were ambulances there and it looked quite serious so I think whoever got out of that has been lucky." Three ambulances and a support paramedic attended the incident.
Fire crews were also called to cut the 35-week pregnant woman out of the Mini and help clear the wreckage.
The woman and the driver of the overturned Astra, a man in his 20s, were treated for neck and back pains before being taken to hospital.
The cyclist was treated for back pain and taken to Russells Hall Hospital.
Meanwhile, a motorist was taken to hospital with serious injuries after a smash in Bloxwich. A car and lorry collided at the junction of Cresswell Crescent and Broad Lane at around 9.30 last night. The driver of the car, a man believed to be in his 20s, suffered chest injuries and was found to be in cardiac arrest at the scene.
