Man dies and woman hurt in A1 crashes

The incident, near junction 44 for Boston Spa outside Leeds, was one of two collisions yesterday morning on an eight-mile stretch of the motorway that caused major tailbacks back to Leeds and into York as drivers sought other routes.

The 45-year-old man’s Vauxhall Zafira crashed into the back of the lorry, which had a puncture, shortly before 11am.

Fire crews from Wetherby and Moortown attended the incident, along with the technical rescue team based at Cleckheaton.

Watch commander Derek Milne, from Wetherby fire station, said firefighters were involved in a delicate operation to remove the driver from the car, which was trapped beneath the lorry.

They used hydraulic lifting equipment to pull apart the chassis before getting the man out.

“It was a serious incident and quite a complex operation,” Mr Milne said.

The man was confirmed dead at the scene, while the driver of the lorry was unhurt, he added.

The second collision happened just after 11.30am near junction 43. Fire and ambulance crews were called to the scene following an incident thought to have involved four vehicles.

Garforth, Tadcaster and Castleford firefighters helped to rescue a woman from a Ford Ka that was caught up in the smash. She was conscious and taken to hospital by ambulance. Police closed the northbound carriageway, causing long tailbacks. The road reopened at about 4pm.

Witnesses to the fatal crash are asked to call the eastern area roads policing unit via 101.