Male (26) in hospital after car crashes through central reservation

Apr 7 2011 by Leona Greenan, Hamilton Advertiser

A BUSY Motherwell road was closed for almost three hours on Wednesday morning after a car overturned blocking the carriageway.

The 26-year-old male driver of a black Honda Civic is believed to have clipped the central reservation as he was travelling down Sheilds Road, causing the car to flip over the barrier and into the path of oncoming traffic.

Fortunately, no other vehicles were hit.

Police, an ambulance and the fire brigade all attended the scene just after 8.33am as the driver of the Honda was trapped upside down in the vehicle.

Officers closed the road in both directions and put diversions in place while the fire brigade safely removed the injured male.

The road was only reopened at 11am after an oil spillage and debris from the crashed vehicle was removed.

No one else was travelling in the car.

A bystander who arrived shortly after the accident said: “I didn't actually witness it. The ambulance and police arrived on the scene probably in about five minutes. Traffic was static, and it appears that he has been coming down the road on Shields Road and has possibly clipped the traffic island there. He was on the upper side of the road, so the car was on the opposite side of the road and must have flipped across the barrier.

“From what I gather, his front passenger tyre was on the other side of the road. It's a one-car accident, one of these things that just happens sometimes.”

A Motherwell police spokesman said: “We received reports of a one-car accident at 8.33am on Tuesday morning on Sheilds Road, near to the Bull Frog pub.

“The police, fire service and ambulance all responded to the call where a 26-year-old male driver was in an upturned Honda Civic vehicle.

“The road was closed in both directions for the safety of other motorists, while the fire brigade worked to remove the driver.

“He was then transferred to hospital, where his condition has been described as stable but giving cause for concern.

“Investigations will continue.”