Woodhead Pass crash: Police fear for safety of driver in serious incident which shut major Peak District route

Highways bosses said the road had to be closed in both directions as a result of a ‘vehicle fire’. The road is one of the main links between Sheffield and Manchester.

But police have now revealed that a van had crashed into a wall, and there are now fears that the van driver could have left the scene with serious injuries as a result of the incident, which happened just after 10pm last night and closed the road for nearly four hours.

Derbyshire Police, investigating the incident, said the driver had already left the scene when their officers arrived.

The force said in a statement: “We were called to a report of a collision involving a van and a wall on the A628 Woodhead Pass just after 10.10pm on Wednesday 28 June. The road was closed for several hours following the collision involving a white Ford Transit but reopened just before 2am on Thursday 29 June.

“The driver of the van wasn’t at the scene when we arrived, and we are keen to find them as they might have been injured as a result of the incident.

“If you saw the collision or have any dashcam footage around the time of the incident, you can contact us, quoting reference number 23*398853.”

They added anyone with information can contact them via the Derbyshire Police website, the Derbyshire Constabulary Facebook page, direct message to their contact centre via twitter on @DerPolContact; or by calling 101.

You can also anonymously contact the independent charity CrimeStoppers, on 0800 555 111, or by visiting the CrimeStoppers website.