A TEENAGE boy has been killed and his mother is fighting for her life after they were hit by an articulated lorry as they got out of a car that had crashed on the A1.
The 16-year-old and his 46- year-old mother were in a vehicle that hit the central reservation and were attempting to reach the hard shoulder when they were struck, shortly before 10pm on Wednesday.
The incident, the second fatality in 24 hours on the same stretch of road, happened on the northbound carriageway of the A1(M), one mile north of junction 57, near Barton, North Yorkshire.
The teenager died at the scene, while his mother was taken by ambulance to Darlington’s Memorial Hospital after the adverse weather conditions made it too dangerous for the air ambulance to land.
Police have informed the boy’s family, who are from North Shields, North Tyneside, but are not yet in a position to name him or his mother.
Seven fire crews from around the region worked for more than three hours to try to free the teenager, who was trapped under the lorry.
Specialist rescue equipment was brought in from Ripon and Darlington, as crews worked in temperatures of 6C, dealing with ice and snow.
Richard Henry, communications manager at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The young male casualty was severely trapped underneath the lorry and crews worked for several hours under extreme weather conditions to release him.
“Dozens of firefighters were needed to help with the rescue because of the conditions and the size of the vehicle but, despite their best efforts, the boy was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.”
An investigation into the incident has been launched by North Yorkshire Police. Officers believe the pair were hit by the lorry when it swerved to avoid their car, a blue Peugeot 307, which was across two lanes of the motorway after the crash.
A police spokeswoman was unable to confirm if the wintry conditions had caused the initial collision with the central carriageway.
The driver of the heavy goods vehicle was interviewed by police at the scene. It is not thought he was injured.
In a separate incident, in the early hours of Wednesday, a woman in her 40s was killed when she was hit by a heavy goods vehicle near Catterick Village, in North Yorkshire.
The accident happened at about 2.30am and police expect to release the name of the woman, who is believed to be from the local area, today after her extended family have been informed.
Road safety experts last night said there is no definitive answer about what to do if your car breaks down, or is involved in a collision on the motorway.
Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA, said: “What you do depends very much on the road conditions and the time of day.
“If you have a minor collision at a busy time, the traffic will automatically stop around you so you can leave the road safely.
“But at quiet road periods, which tend to be at night, it’s much more difficult. There is an argument to say that you should stay in the car, as it’s much bigger and other drivers will be able to avoid it.
“It’s a judgement call based on the type of road and the conditions.”
Anyone who witnessed the collision on the A1 on Wednesday night is asked to call PC Martin Usher, on 0845-60-60- 247, quoting reference 12100003277.
■ A jack-knifed lorry caused long tailbacks on a stretch of the A1(M) in County Durham during morning rush-hour yesterday.
The lorry spun across both lanes of the southbound carriageway as it joined the A1(M) at Junction 62, at Carrville, Durham City, at 7.45am.
It came to rest with its cab through the central reserve barriers and its wagon spread across the southbound lanes.
Durham Police closed the southbound section of the A1(M) between Carrville and Bowburn junctions, causing major disruption for traffic which soon tailed back northwards to Chester-le-Street.
Many southbound vehicles had to leave the motorway at Carrville, leading to queues at Catterick the A690 near Durham.
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