A74(M) crashes: Lorry driver dies and man in critical condition Published duration 25 November 2019

image copyright Lewis Clarke image caption The first accident shut the northbound A74(M) for several hours

A lorry driver has died and another man is in a critical condition after two crashes near to one another on the A74(M) motorway in southern Scotland.

The fatal accident happened at 05:45 when a northbound vehicle hit the central reservation and left the road.

Police said the lorry driver had been pronounced dead at the scene near the Lockerbie junction.

A few hours later a collision involving a lorry and van near Eaglesfield left a 34-year-old man critically injured.

The first incident saw the road shut northbound for about four hours on Monday morning for a crash scene investigation and to recover the lorry involved.

Insp Campbell Moffat said: "We are appealing to anyone who may have been on the A74(M) motorway this morning to get in touch if they saw this crash.

"We would also be keen to hear from anyone who may have captured any dash-cam footage of the crash, or the northbound lorry just prior to the crash."

Police are particularly keen to speak to the occupants of a white Mercedes Sprinter style van which stopped at the scene.

The second accident occurred at about 10:05 - around the time the road was being reopened after the first crash.

Emergency services were sent to the scene and the driver of a Renault Trafic van was taken by air ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

image copyright Solway Press Services image caption A man is in a critical condition in hospital after the second crash

The driver of the lorry involved was uninjured.

Police have also appealed for witnesses or any dash-cam footage of the second incident.

The northbound carriageway was closed again for several hours and southbound traffic was also stopped for a time to allow the air ambulance to land.

The road was reported to have been fully reopened shortly before 17:00.