Trucker hurt in tractor smash on A12 in Essex
A lorry driver has been airlifted to hospital with life threatening injuries after a collision with a tractor on the A12 in Essex.
The accident happened on the southbound carriageway near Witham in the early afternoon and the road was closed for several hours.
Both vehicles crashed through the central reservation.
Police expect the road to be free after midnight but motorists are advised to find alternative routes.
Drivers were experiencing severe tailbacks north and southbound and diversions are in place.
The lorry driver was taken to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel with a variety of serious injuries, police said.
The tractor driver had minor cuts and bruises and was taken to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.
Police have been giving bottles of water to stranded motorists and paramedics are on standby to deal with any casualties suffering from heat exhaustion.