A19 CRASH: Dashcam appeal after five-vehicle collision which saw four people hurt

National Highways North East Tweeted at 9.10am today, Tuesday, October 18, that the road had been temporarily closed in both directions between the B1320 at Peterlee and the A182 at Easington due to a ‘serious’ collision.

The Great North Air Ambulance confirmed its team had responded to reports of a collision on the A19 close to Murton at 8.12am.

A Durham Constabulary statement said the incident had occurred near Easington Services shortly before 8am, when it was believed a silver Ford Transit van travelling north had struck a white Transit travelling in the same direction.

The silver van had then collided with the central reservation and gone over the safety barrier, onto the southbound carriageway, where a further three collisions had taken place.

Several people had suffered minor injuries and one woman had been taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital for treatment.

The road had to be closed in both directions to allow emergency services to deal with the incident, a move which had caused ‘significant disruption’ to motorists and officers were grateful for the patience displayed by drivers caught up in traffic.

The northbound dual carriageway was initially reopened, with a single-lane partial reopening of the southbound section.

The closure was fully lifted on both carriageways shortly after 11.30am.

A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We received a call shortly before 8am this morning to reports of a five vehicle road traffic collision on the A19 southbound.

"We sent two Hazardous Area Response Teams, a clinical team leader and three emergency ambulance crews and transported four patients to Sunderland Royal Hospital for further treatment."

Several witnesses have already come forward, but anyone who has any information or dashcam footage is asked to email [email protected], quoting incident reference 56 of October 18.