Appeal for witnesses following fatal road traffic collision on the East Lancashire Road

We are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic collision on the East Lancashire Road today, Thursday 9 May.

We were contacted at 6.35am to reports a motorbike had been in collision with a refuse lorry on the westbound carriageway between Moorgate Road and the slip road for the M57.

The rider of the bike, a man in his 40s, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. His family have been identified and are being supported by specially trained officers.

The driver of the refuse lorry stopped at the scene and is assisting us with our ongoing inquiries.

A 33-year-old man, who was the driver of a third vehicle, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving a vehicle whilst unfit through drugs. He remains in custody.

The east and westbound carriageways of the East Lancashire Road remain closed while investigation work is carried out and motorists are advised to avoid the area.

We are appealing for anyone who witnessed the collision or the movements of the vehicles prior to the collision to contact us.

Detective Sergeant Andy Roper, Lead Investigating Officer from the Matrix Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “Our thoughts are with the man’s family, who must be understandably devastated by what has happened. We will continue to support them and work hard to provide them with answers.

“An investigation into what happened in the run-up to the collision remains ongoing and we have spoken to a number of witnesses.

“We are also in the process of examining CCTV and dashcam footage. We would ask anyone who was travelling along either carriageway of the East Lancashire Road at around 6.30am who saw or heard anything or believes they captured something on their dashcam to contact us as a matter of urgency.

"Even if you are unsure if your dashcam has captured anything or not, we would welcome contact to allow us to check. We can collect the footage in person or we could send you a link to upload it."

Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to call our Matrix Serious Collision Investigation Unit on (0151) 777 5747, email [email protected], or DM @MerPolCC on Twitter quoting reference 24000422504.