A TEENAGE motorist was last night fighting for his life following a horrific two-car smash which left four others hospitalised and happened as dense fog cloaked the region's roads.

A TEENAGE motorist was last night fighting for his life following a horrific two-car smash which left four others hospitalised and happened as dense fog cloaked the region's roads.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene of the lunchtime collision at Thurston, near Bury St Edmunds, with firecrews freeing five people - one of which was a 17-year-old local man who had suffered serious head injuries.

And despite the arson attack on the East Anglian Ambulance Service's depot in nearby Barton Mills at the weekend, extensive medical resources were also sent to the rural country road to ferry casualties to hospital.

Speaking last night, a spokesman for Suffolk police said the 1pm accident had involved a Vauxhall Vectra, in which the youth was travelling, and Renault Megane.

Officials said one person had suffered a broken leg and another facial wounds, while the teenager's injuries were described as “potentially life-threatening”. The other two casualties are believed to have suffered only minor injuries.

An investigation into the cause of the accident, which happened on Mount Road between the Rougham Industrial Estate and Fishwicke Corner, will now take place - and officials will consider if the thick fog and poor visibility which engulfed the county during the day played a part.

“Police will be conducting a full and thorough investigation to determine the cause of the collision,” said a spokesman for Suffolk police. “This will include looking at the travelling conditions of the road and the weather at the time of the incident.

“The road was closed and diversions put in place while the collision was dealt with and investigations took place.

“We are appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time and witnessed the collision to contact us.”

The spokesman added three people had been transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge following the accident and two - including the seriously injured teenager - had been taken to the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury.

A spokesman for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said three appliances had been sent to the scene, spending around an hour cutting casualties free and clearing wreckage from the road.

Extensive resources were also promptly dispatched by the ambulance service, and a spokesman said those injured had been transferred quickly to hospital.

“We had four ambulances, three doctors, a response vehicle and an ambulance officer at the scene,” he said. “Of the people taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, one had a fractured leg and one had facial injuries.

“Another two people were taken to the West Suffolk Hospital and one of these was a man who had suffered serious head injuries.”

Anyone who witnessed the accident, or has any other information about the collision, should contact the Bury Roads Policing Unit on 01284 774100.