Two arrested after crashing into Walsall traffic lights
Two men in their 20s were arrested today after a car they are believed to have stolen crashed into traffic lights outside Walsall Manor Hospital.
The front of the silver Audi was badly smashed and debris was strewn across the road for hours after the 5am accident.
Drivers making their way to work in rush hour were caught up in long delays around the scene in Pleck Road after police cordoned off a section of the busy route.
West Midlands Police spokesman Lee Page confirmed the driver and passenger, both men, had been arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. The passenger suffered serious injuries while the driver had bruising.
He said: "It happened at around 5am. Police came across a single vehicle road traffic accident in Pleck Road.
"A car had crashed into traffic lights and street furniture. The driver and passenger were both injured. The driver had bruising. He was arrested on suspicion of theft and has gone into police custody. His injuries are non-life threatening. The passenger's injuries are serious.
"He is also under arrest."
Police closed part of Pleck Road from its junction with Moat Road and Bridgeman Street.
Diversions were in place and drivers were being redirected along Alumwell Road.
Long queues built up around the hospital site as police investigators completed inquiries at the scene.
Chris Kowalik, spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service, said ambulance crews were called by police at around 5.03am.
A rapid response vehicle and an ambulance crew attended the scene and two people were taken to Walsall Manor Hospital.
Last month two men were arrested after a car hit a fence near Walsall Manor Hospital.
The pair, aged 18 and 20, were in a yellow Seat Leon and were being followed by a police car. It happened in Ida Road, Alumwell on April 10.
Meanwhile, frustrated drivers took to Twitter as they were caught up in the delays this morning. "The traffic in the area is horrendous," said one motorist.
Police issued a warning about the disruption but said patients should still be able to get to the hospital. Traffic on the ring road was heavier due to the smash. Investigation and recovery work was carried out at the scene.
Gurdip Thandi, who works in Wolverhampton, was on a bus that drove past the scene.
He said: "We hit traffic just coming out of the town centre. We saw the turning into Pleck Road and it had been taped off."
