Gridlock chaos

A 22-year-old man died in the early hours of this morning after the grey Toyota Aygo he was driving left the road and hit a tree between 2.20am and 5.30am on the A64 eastbound near to the junction with Colton Lane between York and Tadcaster.

The car came to rest in a ditch near Bilbrough Top and police came across the crash at 5.30am when an ambulance was called from York, but the driver, said to be from the Pontefract area, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The A64 eastbound was closed for five hours at the A1M Bramham junction and traffic was diverted off the A1 on to the A59 at Allerton Park and off the A64 through Tadcaster.

This resulted in gridlock chaos with traffic queuing at Tadcaster for over two hours trying to find alternative routes to get into York.

A minor accident involving three vehicles on the A59 further added to the chaos and brought traffic to a standstill and the road was down to one lane while debris was cleared away.

Many commuters coming into York from Leeds and the west of the city went on the A19 and came into York through Selby, but here too they faced a wait of around two hours.

Heavy rain did little to help the situation with many side roads waterlogged and the B1222 at Naburn was closed due to flooding.

Traffic Sergeant Les Moorhouse, who was leading investigations into the crash at the scene, said: "The male driver was 22-years-old and from Pontefract.

"We believe the car he was driving left the road during the night and it was last seen traveling on the A1 at around 2.20am.

"We are appealing to anyone who may have been on the A1 or the A64 between 2.20am and 5.30am and has seen the car or witnessed any of the event leading up to this incident."

Recovery vehicles cleared the A64 and it was reopened to traffic at 10.30am. Any witnesses should contact TS Moorhouse on 0845 6060247.