A 28-year-old man has died after his BMW collided with a lorry in icy conditions in Northumberland early on Thursday morning.
Emergency services were called to the A1 near Felton at around 1.30am after the car, which was heading southbound, collided with a HGV coming the other way.
The driver died shortly after arriving at hospital, Northumbria Police said, and officers closed the road in both directions while carrying out inquiries.
There was also a multiple-vehicle collision on the A1 near Washington Services at around 6am, after which seven cars had to be towed away, the force said.
Two people involved in the crash are believed to have suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, a spokeswoman said.
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Officers are examining whether both incidents were directly related to the weather conditions.
Commuters across the UK suffered widespread disruption because of the cold conditions on Thursday morning.
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Temperatures dipped below zero overnight, dropping as low as -2.9C (27F) in Suffolk.
Were terribly sorry to passengers for the widespread disruption this morning.
When the forecast changed suddenly yesterday, it was impossible for us to mobilise the snow and ice treatment trains and all the crew needed to operate them at such short notice. Cont..— NR South East (@NetworkRailSE) April 4, 2019
Trains across the South East were disrupted, with Southeastern saying on its website: "Freezing weather overnight has left icy conditions on the third rail, which is making it difficult for trains to draw power.
"Services running across the Southeastern network this morning may be delayed, cancelled or revised."
Some people responded with frustration, one telling the company "you didn't prepare for a tiny bit of ice", alleging it was "incompetence of the highest level!"
Network Rail apologised on Twitter, saying it "didnt anticipate the level of ice" that would form.
Motorists were advised to take particular care along icy and snow-covered roads.
Forecaster Luke Miall said drivers could expect minor road closures if conditions were "particularly bad over some of the higher routes".
Sky News
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