Police officer desperately holds onto lorry to stop it falling off motorway bridge
KEY POINTS
- PC Martin Willis praised for grabbing vehicle to stop if swaying in wind following A1 accident.
- Driver rescued from lorry suffering serious but none-life threatening injuries
A traffic officer has described his relief after he was forced to cling onto a lorry to stop it falling off a motorway bridge until help arrived.
West Yorkshire Traffic officer PC Martin Willis said he was the first one on the scene following the accident on the northbound carriageway of the A1(M) just after 6am on Friday (1 December).
When Willis got there, he was forced to hold onto the vehicle with the driver still inside to keep it still and to prevent it blowing in the wind.
Describing the scene in a tweet, Willis said: "First on the scene of this collision on the A1M this morning and faced a vehicle balancing over the edge of a bridge with the driver trapped.
"After holding on to the vehicle to stop it swaying in the wind I can't begin to describe my relief when West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue arrived on the scene."
Emergency services managed to rescue the driver of the lorry. He was taken to hospital with serious but non life-threatening injuries.
A spokesperson for the West Yorkshire Fire Service said: "Emergency services worked incredibly hard together this morning to rescue the driver of this vehicle on the A1(M).
"The male casualty is recovering in hospital after what must have been a terrifying ordeal. We wish him well."
The crash occurred just before rush hour between Bramham and Boston Spar, causing traffic delays for the morning.
