TWO men have been killed in separate accidents in a weekend of tragedy on Essex roads.Paramedics desperately tried to save the driver of a Chrysler Voyager, believed to come from the Great Baddow area, who suffered serious head and chest injuries in a horrific crash yesterday .

By Juliette Maxam

TWO men have been killed in separate accidents in a weekend of tragedy on Essex roads.

Paramedics desperately tried to save the driver of a Chrysler Voyager, believed to come from the Great Baddow area, who suffered serious head and chest injuries in a horrific crash yesterday .

Five other people in the Chrysler, including three teenage boys, were hurt after the vehicle was in collision with a car and overturned just after 2pm - ending up on the opposite carriageway of the A130 dual-carriageway near Rettendon.

Meanwhile, a 32-year-old pedestrian killed in a separate road accident in Colchester late on Friday night was named yesterday as Allan Doobay, who lived in the town.

Commenting on yesterday's crash near Rettendon, aircrew paramedic Damian Sherman said: "A man in his late 30s or early 40s suffered very serious head and chest injuries.

"He was flown, unconscious, to Basildon Hospital with us supporting his breathing.

"We had the man at hospital within about 20 minutes of the first call about the accident. Medics were on standby and immediately started working on him, but unfortunately they were unable to save him.

"Meanwhile the helicopter returned to the crash scene and airlifted a young man of about 17 to Southend Hospital with neck and back injuries."

Two teenage boys, an older woman and a young woman aged about 20 were taken to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, with neck and back pain. The older woman also had leg and hip injuries. All the people from the Chrysler are believed to come from Great Baddow.

The driver of the other car involved in the crash was unhurt, but checked over by a doctor at the crash site.

Essex Ambulance Service Senior Manager, Alan Whitehead, said: "There was initially a collision between a Peugeot and a Chrysler Voyager people carrier, both of which were heading northbound, for Chelmsford.

"The Chrysler ended up overturning and crossing the central reservation. Amazingly it didn't hit anything coming southbound. Had it done so this could have been a far more serious incident still."

Emergency crews sent to the crash site, on the A130 between Rayleigh and Rettendon, included the air ambulance, four land ambulances, three paramedic managers, a BASICS doctor, four fire crews and police.

The road was closed while the rescue operation was carried out and the wreckage removed.

The other man to die in an accident at the weekend was pedestrian Allan Doobay , who was involved in a collision with a van in Mile End Road, Colchester.

Mr Doobay, who lived by himself in Studds Lane, Colchester, was in collision with a van which was driving towards Sudbury, at 11.10pm on Friday. Mr Doobay's family live in London. The van driver, a 26-year-old local man, was not hurt in the accident.

It happened about 75 metres from the Mile End Road junction with Wedgewood Drive, on the Sudbury side.

An Essex Ambulance Service spokesman said: "Unfortunately the man was confirmed dead at the scene."

Anyone who witnessed the Colchester accident is asked to contact Stanway road policing unit on 01206 762512.