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UK ambulances crash in icy weather

A Ford Transit van ploughed into an ambulance during rush hour traffic

Daily Post

LIVERPOOL, England — Traffic chaos gripped Merseyside yesterday as icy conditions caused a series of crashes.

In Knowsley, a Ford Transit van ploughed into a Merseyside ambulance during rushhour traffic.

The two-man crew were treating an injured motorcyclist in the back of their ambulance yesterday morning when the van hit them.

A second ambulance was then sent to the scene at Kitling Road, on Knowsley business park, which took the two male crew members and the motorcyclist to Aintree hospital.

The ambulance workers were described as “walking wounded” after the collision, although the motorcyclist did not suffer any further injury from the second incident.

The first ambulance attended the scene at around 8am after a motorcyclist came off his bike in icy weather, suffering minor injuries. A spokesman for Northwest Ambulance Service confirmed that one of their crews was taken to Aintree hospital for minor injuries.

There were 17 road traffic collisions on the Merseyside stretch of the East Lancashire Road yesterday morning, after rainwater froze on top of the road surface.

A six-vehicle pile-up at 6.30am left the carriageway blocked for half a mile, causing major disruption. Police were later able to open one lane of the road at 11am to allow traffic to begin to flow again.

No one was injured in the crash.

Elsewhere, there were delays when lethal black ice caused dozens of crashes and miles of tailbacks on the M62. Yesterday, Cheshire Police said they started to get a deluge of calls about accidents from 6.30am.

Drivers were apparently losing control of their vehicles on black ice between Junctions Six and Eight.

Police said no serious injuries had been reported.

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