A man has tragically died following a medical incident at the wheel of his car in County Durham.
Emergency crews attended the scene of a one-vehicle crash on the A19 northbound slip road near Little Thorpe just before 12.05pm yesterday (November 2). The A19 slip road northbound was subsequently closed by police while officers and paramedic crews were at the scene.
Durham Constabulary confirmed that a man sadly was pronounced dead at the scene upon the arrival of emergency crews. A spokesman for the force said: "A man has sadly died following a collision on the A19 yesterday.
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"Police were called just after 12.05pm yesterday to a one-vehicle collision involving a Kia Sportage on the northbound slip road near Little Thorpe. Specialist paramedics also attended, but tragically the driver – a man in his sixties - was pronounced dead at the scene.
"The man is believed to have suffered a medical episode while driving."
The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) confirmed two specialist paramedic teams and an ambulance crew were called to the scene.
A NEAS spokesperson added: "We received a call at 12.19pm this afternoon to reports of an incident on the A19 near Easington, Peterlee. We dispatched one ambulance crew and two specialist paramedics."
Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service also confirmed crews attended the scene earlier in the afternoon - but left one hour after receiving the callout. The closure of the A19 led to widespread disruption in the vicinity with vehicles reported to be bumper-to-bumper as commuters were caught in miles of tailbacks.
Road workers from Traffic England, part of National Highways, continued to clear the area on the the A19 exit slip to Little Thorpe into the early evening. The A19 exit slip road to Little Thorpe re-opened at approximately 5.25pm on Wednesday (November 2) and has now been cleared.
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