Motorcyclist dies in Birmingham New Road crash
A motorcyclist has died after a crash with a car that shut a main route through the Black Country for more than three hours.
The 47-year-old died on his way to hospital despite help from bystanders, including an off-duty nurse following the smash on the Birmingham New Road at Coseley.
The driver of the silver Ford Puma car suffered cuts and bruises and was taken to Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital.
The motorcyclist, who was riding a black Suzuki GSXR 1000, is from Coseley, police said. He has not yet been named.
Witnesses at the scene reported hearing a "big bang" at the time of the accident, which happened at the junction with Vicarage Road, at around 6.30pm yesterday.
Adrian Cox, 15, from Sedgmoor Park, Bilston, said: "The man must have been thrown from his bike. Ambulance workers were trying to resuscitate him about 50 yards from the car. A helicopter landed by the traffic lights at the top of the road and he was taken away."
A resident of Vicarage Road, who did not want to be named, said: "There was a lot of people outside. Some of them got off the bus as it travelled down Vicarage Road because they were distressed at the sight."
Raj Sandhu, a 56-year-old father-of-three who also lives on Vicarage Road, said: "We didn't see anything but we heard a loud bang and came to the window.
"We could hear before that there was a motorbike coming down the road and then there was a loud bang."
The road re-opened at around 9.40pm.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said the man was suffering from a cardiac arrest when its paramedics arrived, and an off-duty nurse was administering CPR.
A spokeswoman said: "The man was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham with the doctor and paramedic continuing vital treatment. Sadly nothing could be done to save the man and he was confirmed dead on arrival at hospital. The driver of the car suffered cuts and bruises."
Police are appealing for witnesses to contact the Collision Investigation Unit at Perry Barr by phoning 101.
