A 62-YEAR-OLD van driver suffered multiple fractures after being involved in a crash with a lorry on the A350 on Monday.

The crash, involving a lorry, a cyclist and a Citroen van, happened between Madbrook Farm and Upton Scudmore, near Warminster, at about 5.40pm.

The cyclist, believed to be local, escaped with minor injuries, while the van driver, from Warminster, suffered serious lower-body injuries and had to be cut free from his vehicle by emergency services. The lorry driver escaped unharmed.

Mother-of-one Jade Wigham, 23, was on her way home from work in Trowbridge, driving just three cars behind the van when the crash happened.

She described how she slammed on the brakes and saw smoke billowing out in front of her and an engine landing on the side of the road next to her car.

Mrs Wigham, of The Grovelands, Warminster, said: “I saw the van spin and go into the lorry. The lorry was swerving and I thought it was going to run into me.

“I called for an ambulance and they asked me to go up and see how many people were involved.

“I could see one man but I wasn’t in any fit state to look.”

As she approached the crash scene, Mrs Wigham, who has only been driving for seven months, had to avoid debris which had scattered in the crash, including an engine and a windscreen.

Witnesses describe how the driver of the van had been attempting to overtake the cyclist, believed to be in his 20s, when he seemed to lose control and slid into the path of an oncoming lorry, which originated from Poland.

“The next day I had to overtake a cyclist on the same road and I did get quite panicky,” said Mrs Wigham.

“I was a bit shaky after the crash. It was so cold and I really just wanted to go home.

“When I got in I thought ‘oh my God; I was only three cars behind’.

“ I just didn’t feel like eating and I couldn’t sleep that night.”

The driver of the van was taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath by ambulance.

Two fire engines, two ambulance rapid response vehicles and local police were on the scene within minutes.

Meanwhile, traffic attempting to avoid the crash, diverted on to the Old Dilton Road where they became gridlocked.

Motorists switched off their engines and sat in darkness for more than an hour while waiting for the single track road to become clear so they could join the A36.

If you have information in relation to the crash call PC Frank Katus at the roads policing unit in Chippenham on 0845 408 7000.