Driver still in fight for life

A 54-YEAR-OLD man was still fighting for his life early today after a horrific crash on the Orwell Bridge.

The man, from Ipswich, is in a critical condition in hospital after his red Audi saloon was hit by a Volvo lorry at 6am yesterday.

It is believed the car, which had broken down on the A14, was dragged around 250 yards after the initial impact. Some reports suggested the driver was thrown from his car and struck by other vehicles.

The 59-year-old lorry driver, from Chelmsford, was also taken to hospital for a check-up.

Meanwhile, a 39-year-old man from Rowhedge, in Essex, has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving in relation to a crash on the A12 yesterday.

Four vehicles were involved in a collision on the Ipswich-bound carriageway of the road, just before the Copdock interchange, at around 7.45am.

In a separate incident, a woman is recovering today after suffering head injuries in a two-vehicle crash under the Orwell Bridge yesterday.

The accident, on The Strand, at Wherstead, came shortly after the A14 was reopened to traffic following the earlier crash.

The woman was driving a blue Rover car when it collided with a red Renault Kangoo, travelling in the opposite direction, at 2.30pm yesterday.

Traffic was diverted as emergency services attended the incident. Two people were trapped in the wreckage and were released by the fire service.

Sgt Colin Teager of Suffolk police, said: "It was a serious accident and we're investigating.

"Once again we have had to close the road which is unfortunate and we apologise for that, but we had no option.

"Bearing in mind that the A14 was closed for the best part of a day, please convey our apologies to the people in the Ipswich area."

Despite freezing and foggy conditions, police said there were no major incidents on Suffolk's roads early today.

Routes around Ipswich were also reported to running relatively smoothly after yesterday's chaos.