UPDATE: Motorcyclist in critical condition as police urge Mercedes driver to come forward

And police have urged a driver who they say may have seen the bike in the moments before the collision to come forward.

Officers were called to Heworth Road in Washington shortly after 11am today, Friday June 17. It was reported the motorcycle had been travelling south when – for reasons yet to be established – it collided with a wall on the opposite side of the road.

Emergency services found the male rider, aged 28, with serious, life-threatening injuries. He was taken to the RVI by air ambulance where he remains in a critical condition. His family have been notified.

The road was closed in both directions for a number of hours but has since fully reopened.

Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances around the collision and officers have appealed to the public for any information which could help establish what happened.

Sergeant Ray Lowery, of Northumbria Police, said: “This is a clearly a serious collision which has resulted in a 28-year-old man being taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

“We are carrying out a number of enquiries in the area and, while our investigation remains at an early stage, we do believe there is a key witness who we have not yet spoken to.

“We understand that the driver of a black Mercedes A Class visited the Premier Convenience Store on the same road at around 11am and may have seen the motorcycle in the moments leading up to the collision.

"We would urge that driver to get in touch with police as soon as possible as their information could prove invaluable to our investigation.

“Anybody who believes they witnessed this collision, or who saw the motorcycle prior to or after the incident, should get in touch with police. We also want to hear from anybody who may have CCTV or dashcam footage which may be of interest to our investigation.

“I would like to thank the public for their ongoing cooperation as well as those who have already assisted with enquiries.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of the force website or by calling 101 quoting log NP-20220617-0345.