10:21am Wednesday 10th March 2010
By Richard Harris
“It’s a miracle that anyone survived.”
Those were the words of a North Yorkshire Police spokesman following an accident in which an HGV smashed into a line of stationary cars.
A Volkswagen Lupo was at the back of a line of the queuing cars and was crushed to almost half its original length after the lorry slammed into its rear.
Yet, amazingly, the driver – a local man in his late 20s – survived.
The force spokesman said: “The car looks like a concertina. It has been totally crushed and it is difficult to believe anyone was able to walk away with their life.”
The driver was taken to York Hospital with serious injuries, but police have said they are not thought to be life-threatening.
Last night, he was said to be in a stable condition with head injuries.
The Lupo, a Volvo V70 and a van had stopped at temporary traffic lights near the Highwayman Café at 10.50pm on Monday when they were hit from behind by the lorry, which was travelling from York to Scarborough.
A firefighter who attended the scene said the car was winched carefully out from under the lorry after it had been stabilised by a rescue unit from Tadcaster.
Crew manger Adrian Riley, from York, said: “You couldn’t tell which was the roof or the front or the side of the car.”
The driver was freed after more than an hour and 15 minutes when hydraulic rams were used to open the car. The driver of the German-registered lorry, a 39-year-old German man, was later arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving. At the time of going to print he was still in police custody.
The accident blocked the A64 until 8am yesterday.
Anyone with information about the accident is asked to phone Sgt Dave Willey on 0845 6060247.
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