UPDATE: Both carriageways of the M62 between junctions 34 and 35 have now been reopened

 

A police officer was seriously injured in a collision during a police pursuit along the M62 south of Selby last night, it has been confirmed.

West Yorkshire police confirmed this morning that two police cars were involved in a collision with a Seat Ibiza as it headed east along the motorway towards Humberside at 11.24pm last night.

"There was a collision between the vehicle and two police vehicles," a spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said.

"One of the police vehicles left the carriageway and was in collision with a bridge stanchion. A police officer suffered serious leg injuries as a result and he was taken to hospital where he remains in a serious but non-life threatening condition."

Dramatic video footage circulating on social media shows a crumpled police car at the side of the road, with ambulances arriving at the scene.

The injured police officer had to be cut free from his car by North Yorkshire firefighters - as did two men in a Seat Ibiza. Two other men in the Seat had got out of the car by themselves before fire crews arrived.

All four men from the Seat were arrested and remain in custody.

"Three of them were injured – one suffered neck and back injuries and two others suffered minor injuries," the West Yorkshire Police pokesperson said.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct has been notified.
The M62 east bound between junction 34 to junction 35 is likely to remain closed for some time as investigation work continues. 

A spokeswoman for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service confirmed that four ambulances attended the incident, along with five rapid response vehicles and a hazardous area response team, as well as the Yorkshire air ambulance.

Two people were taken to Pinderfields hospital, the spokswoman said, and two were taken to Leeds General infirmary.

The M62 was closed in both directions following the incident, leading to gridlock and long traffic queues.

Some drivers are understood to have been trapped in their cars for several hours, although The Press understands that they had been released by 7.20am.

National Highways Yorkshire tweeted this afternoon that both carriages of the motorway had now been reopened.