Duo fight for life after quad bike crash

CRASH scene . . . Manchester Road, Hollinwood, this morning

TWO men are fighting for their lives after a quad bike was involved in a smash in Manchester Road early this morning.

Hundreds of drivers faced rush-hour chaos following the collision between the bike, which was carrying three men, and a Fiat Punto, at around 3am.

Manchester Road was closed in both directions between Hardman Street and Drury Lane and was due to re-open at around 9am.

The 30-year-old quad bike driver suffered a serious head injury, a punctured lung and a fractured neck. He is in a life-threatening condition at North Manchester General Hospital

His 23-year-old passenger suffered a fractured skull and a bleed to his brain and remains at the Royal Oldham Hospital. His injuries are also described as life-threatening.

Another passenger escaped with minor cuts.

The Fiat Punto was found on Baxter Street. A 24-year-old man was arrested shortly afterwards on suspicion of failing to stop at the scene of an accident and remains in police custody for questioning.

There were long queues on Manchester Road in both directions this morning and one driver heading into Oldham from Manchester said: “It has taken me 40 minutes longer to get here. They are diverting traffic, but it was not moving.

“When I drove past the motorway, it had also built up on the slip road.”

The tailbacks were compounded for a time by a broken down car on Manchester Street.

Anyone who witnessed the collision is urged to call the road policing unit on 0161-856 8802.