Driver's miracle escape as digger falls off back of lorry and crushes car on busy motorway
A driver had a miracle escape[1] after a digger fell off a lorry and onto his car[2] on a busy motorway.
Unbelievable images taken on the M74 yesterday show the vehicle came away remarkably unscathed.
It is thought the machine fell off a low loader after it was being transported a short distance at the scene.
The occupants of the silver car seen underneath the digger escaped uninjured, the Daily Record reported[3] .
It was unclear whether the car had been a regular motorway user or was a works vehicle associated with the roads construction ongoing in the area.
It's thought the digger may have hit an over-bridge, knocking it off its trailer.
Police were last night still at the location of the incident, which happened just after 3.30pm and blocked Junction 4 and Junction 5 northbound.
The incident led to rush-hour gridlock on the motorway, the main artery between Scotland and England.
Drivers were being asked to divert via the A725, A8 and M73.
The occupants managed to get out of the car unscathed (Photo: Daniel Barclay)A police spokeswoman said: "The digger fell on top of a vehicle. The occupants got out safely and there were no reports of any injuries."
A spokeswoman for Scottish Fire and Rescue service said: "We received a call at 3.41pm and three appliances were sent to the scene."
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "Following a road traffic accident this afternoon which involved possible damage to B7071 overbridge, the M74 northbound is currently closed between Junction 4 and 5.
"Our contractor in the area, Scottish Roads Partnership, is assisting Police, Ambulance and Fire Rescue services with the recovery and structural engineers are carrying out an inspection of the bridge.
"A diversion via the A725 at junction 5 has been implemented by Police Scotland, and Traffic Scotland are providing live updates via Traffic Scotland radio and their twitter feed."
The M74 was later re-opened just after 9pm after the digger was removed.
References
- ^ had a miracle escape (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ fell off a lorry and onto his car (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ the Daily Record reported (www.dailyrecord.co.uk)
