POLICE have arrested two men in connection with a fatal road crash which plunged rush hour traffic on the A14 into chaos.The four-vehicle accident happened on the eastbound carriageway, just past the Asda turn off at Sproughton, near Ipswich, shortly after 8.

By Danielle Nuttall

POLICE have arrested two men in connection with a fatal road crash which plunged rush hour traffic on the A14 into chaos.

The four-vehicle accident happened on the eastbound carriageway, just past the Asda turn off at Sproughton, near Ipswich, shortly after 8.30am on Friday.

An HGV and silver VW Polo collided before bursting into flames. The male driver of the Polo, believed to be in his 50s, died at the scene.

Around 50 yards further back along the road a white transit van ended up on its side with damage to the front and back of the vehicle and behind that a pick-up truck with a trailer carrying a digger ploughed down a bank at the roadside. These crashes were believed to be linked to the fatal accident.

The HGV driver was treated at the scene for shock, but did not require hospital treatment, and three others were treated for minor injuries.

Suffolk Constabulary confirmed yesterday two men had since been arrested in connection with the crash on suspicion of careless driving.

One of the men - a 40-year-old from Needham Market - was arrested on Sunday and later released on police bail. He is due to return to Ipswich Police Station on September 24.

The second man - a 36-year-old from Ipswich - was arrested yesterday morning and has also been released on police bail. He is due to return to Ipswich Police Station on the same day.

The identity of the crash victim will not be released until formal identification has taken place.

The accident caused massive delays for motorists and followed a week of carnage on the busy route.

Last week, a lorry overturned and slid down an embankment onto the Felixstowe-bound carriageway at Copdock and on Wednesday a van carrying lethal chemicals caught fire and partially exploded near Newmarket closing the road in both directions.

Police immediately put in diversions at Claydon following Friday's accident so vehicles could filter through Ipswich but motorists experienced major delays.

The eastbound carriageway was eventually reopened around 5pm - eight-and-a-half hours after the accident happened.

The crash prompted calls for highways chiefs to look at the future of the A14 and invest more money into improvements.