Motorists have been facing disruption after a lorry crash on the A13 this morning.
Heavy congestion up to Canning Town Flyover was reported this evening, after the closure of the A13 eastbound between Ferry Lane and New Road in Rainham.
The closure came after a lorry drove into a second HGV at around 9am this morning, near Ferry Lane.
The driver of the parked VolkerHighways lorry, believed to be preparing to close the inside lane for drain cleaning, made a miraculous escape as he dived out of the window of his vehicle as the other vehicle collided.
He was treated for shock but escaped further injury, while the driver of the other HGV is being treated for multiple injuries in hospital.
A third lorry, thought to be a £1million Hydro Cleansing Ltd vehicle, was also damaged, while debris was spread across three lanes on impact of the collision.
The fire brigade’s Havering borough commander Chris Drew said: “The driver of the stationary lorry has narrowly escaped injury by jumping out of his cab.
“Scrap metal, debris and diesel has split across the roadway. Fire crews have use sand bags to stop the diesel going into the nearby drains.
“This is going to be a protracted incident and we’d ask people to avoid the area if possible. Firefighters are working with police officers to get the road open as quickly as possible.”
TfL Traffic News posted on Twitter that 80 metres of road needs to be resurfaced after the lorry was recovered, and urged drivers to take alternative routes.
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