A Royal Mail lorry crashed off the M1 in Northamptonshire this morning after a car hit the central reservation, Northants Live has learned. The crash, which has shut the route for several hours, happened shortly after 3.30am.
Police have now released some information about the circumstances surrounding the crash. A grey Citroen C1 car was travelling northbound between junctions 16 and 17, heading from Daventry towards Dunchurch, when, "for reasons unknown", collided with the central barrier.
It caused the car to cross the carriageway, and it collided with the hard shoulder barrier. A red MANN lorry, now known to be a Royal Mail lorry, then collided with the car before the lorry hit the barrier on the hard shoulder, later coming to rest in a ditch.
The driver of the car, a man in his 20s, was taken to University Hospital Coventry with serious injuries. The driver of the lorry, a man in his 40s, sustained minor injuries.
The northbound carriageway remains closed as of 2pm. The lorry has been removed from the embankment and is to be towed away shortly. Traffic information service Inrix said the crash happened two-and-a-half miles after junction 16, between the A4500 and A5. It said: "Traffic is queueing as it leaves at J16. Works to repair barriers are now underway."
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are aware that one of our vehicles was involved in a road traffic incident this morning. As this incident is the subject of ongoing inquiries by the emergency services, we are unable to comment further at this point.”
A Northamptonshire Police spokesperson said: "Officers would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the incident or who may have captured the collision on dash-cam footage."
Anyone with information is asked to email CollisionAppeals@northants.police.uk or call the Drivewatch Hotline on 0800 174615 or Northamptonshire Police on 101. Quote incident number 23000061997.