AN elderly man killed in a crash on the A14 near Levington was believed to be waiting for help after his car had broken down, it emerged today.Minutes before a lorry was in collision with the Trimley St Mary OAP's Nissan Almera police had received reports the vehicle was stranded.

AN elderly man killed in a crash on the A14 near Levington was believed to be waiting for help after his car had broken down, it emerged today.

Minutes before a lorry was in collision with the Trimley St Mary OAP's Nissan Almera police had received reports the vehicle was stranded.

The Almera's driver was pronounced dead at the scene after his red saloon was hit by an articulated lorry around 11.25pm yesterday.

The Nissan was turned on to its roof by the impact, which happened on the stretch of the A14 at Levington between the Felixstowe interchange and the Bucklesham turn-off.

The man, from Great Field, Trimley St Mary, was freed from his vehicle by firefighters but the emergency services were unable to save him.

The driver of the red Scania lorry, a 50-year-old man from Walsall in the West Midlands, was uninjured.

His vehicle had been heading toward Felixstowe dock at the time of the collision.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the crash and Sergeant John Hawkes from Suffolk Constabulary's traffic unit at Martlesham Heath confirmed officers were looking into reports that the elderly man's car had broken down before the collision.

"It's something that we're looking at closely," he said.

Firefighters were called to the crash scene at the request of police and ambulance personnel and they worked to free the trapped man.

Suffolk Fire assistant divisional officer Dave Pedersen said: "The car was heavily damaged. It had a large impact from the lorry. It's an unfortunate accident and you feel for the family."

The A14 was closed Felixstowe-bound for about three-and-a-half hours and traffic diverted along the A12 to Brightwell.

As the clean-up operation was carried out, a second collision happened when another lorry collided with a Highways Agency "crash cushion" which was alerting motorists to the accident scene ahead.

The trailer was being used to warn of lane closures when the lorry was in collision with the back of it.

The collision at about 5.40am on the A14 at Nacton forced the closure of the inside lane and caused further traffic delays.

Police said the road was cleared by about 7.50am.

Elsewhere there was a third collision between a car and a lorry at 9.26am on the A12 at Martlesham just before the Bucklesham turn-off.

One of the vehicles hit the central reservation in the collision, and the road was partially blocked.

Police are appealing for anyone who saw the fatal accident on the A14 near Levington to telephone the traffic unit at Martlesham Heath on 01473 613500.