A DRIVER was killed in a horrific incident which halted traffic on a South Yorkshire motorway for most of Friday.
The body of the man had to be recovered from under a lorry after the five-vehicle pile-up near junction three of the south-bound carriageway of the M18 at Doncaster.
Tailbacks stretched several miles from the St Catherine’s interchange after the crash during the morning rush hour.
Emergency services were called to the carriageway near the entry slip road at St Catherine’s just after 7am.
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “It is believed that a man, thought to be in his 50s, got out of his vehicle after he was involved in a collision, before being hit by another vehicle or vehicles travelling in an adjoining lane, sustaining fatal injuries.
“A number of other vehicles, including a van and two other cars, then collided as a result.”
Fire crews from Edlington station attended but no-one was trapped in their vehicle.
A spokesman confirmed crews had helped to retrieve the dead man from underneath the heavy goods vehicle which had jack-knifed due to the collision.
The M18 southbound was closed immediately from the Wadworth to Armthorpe interchanges, and officers also blocked off White Rose Way to prevent more traffic heading on to the M18.
Tailbacks also built up on the northbound lanes as drivers slowed to look.
Officers dealing with the collision urged motorists to find an alternative route because the carriageway was expected to be closed until at least 4pm.
A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: “Our officers will need to remove a number of vehicles from the scene once the police investigation has been concluded.”
The lanes closure was reduced back to junction three from junction four at about 10.30am.
The Highways Agency’s regional control centre at Calder Park near Wakefield set signs across the local motorway network to advise drivers of the closure, and the National Traffic Operations Centre near Birmingham also set signs further afield to advise drivers.
Highways Agency traffic officers from the outstation at Sprotbrough were helping to manage traffic at the incident scene.
Police had not identified the dead man last night.