[08 NOV 00] CRIMES, FIRES & ACCIDENTS
Police Home In On Lorry That Killed Motorcyclist 

Police hunting a lorry driver who only stopped after hitting a motorcyclist to remove the wreckage from under his wheels say they have made good progress in their search.

The motorcyclist, Ronald Cobbledick, aged 43, of Rossendale in Lancashire, died in the incident on the M40, near the junction with the M42 on Monday 30 October shortly after 6pm.

Police have put a similar number of officers on the case of finding the lorry of the driver as they might for a murder, and they say they have had a good response.

Key witnesses have come forward following appeals at the Barn Hill service station and posters at the scene of the crash.

Several drivers who drove past the scene shortly after the crash have also contacted officers heading the case.

And video footage of traffic travelling near the scene has been monitored to try and get any clues to the identity of the lorry.

Police say they are now keen to speak to the driver of a lorry seen parked on the hard shoulder in the area shortly after the crash.

Insp Glyn Timmins said:

“We have spent a long time viewing the videos of traffic travelling from the M42 to the M40 around the time of the collision.

“We are interested in tracing the driver of an articulated lorry, dark in colour, possible blue, who had stopped his lorry on the hard shoulder with his hazard lights on.

“We urgently need to speak to this driver and I would urge this driver to come forward.

“We are continuing to view video evidence from cameras at two separate occasions each side of the scene.

“We will be using the latest digital technology to enhance the images we have, to find exact details of the lorry involved and traffic travelling by the scene.

“The vehicle is likely to have sustained some damage and I would ask that anyone who has recently carried out urgent repairs on a heavy goods vehicle with central or nearside damage to phone police immediately,”

Anyone who can help should call the incident room on 01926 415257, Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or Warwickshire Police traffic base on 01925 415464.