Driver dies in car flip tragedy

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), August 14, 2008

A MAN has died after his car somersaulted off the road.

David Johnson, 41, from Newcastle, was taken to the intensive care unit at Newcastle General Hospital after the accident at 1.30am but died later.

His Fiat Punto was travelling north on the A1 Western Bypass just past the MetroCentre when the car left the dual carriageway, flipped onto its roof before landing in a ditch at the side of the road.

Police said the man, from the Newcastle area, was the only person in the vehicle.

Police, ambulance and firefighters from Swalwell station were called to the scene.

The road was closed for more than five hours while officers carried out an accident investigation before the car was taken away.

His relatives have been informed of his death.

A Northumbria police spokesman said: "At 1.30am on the Western Bypass, north-bound and just past the MetroCentre, a Fiat Punto was involved in a road traffic collision.

"The Fiat Punto was the only vehicle involved and the driver was the only occupant.

"The driver who suffered extensive injuries has now died."