Driver killed in Prince of Wales Bridge lorry crash named

Image source, Huw Evans Agency

Image caption, The driver was flown to hospital by an air ambulance following the crash but later died

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A lorry driver who died after he crashed near the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge has been named as 49-year-old Florin Marius Muntean.

Mr Muntean, from Romania, was driving westbound over the bridge into Wales when he crashed at about 10:30 BST on Wednesday morning.

He was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales, but was pronounced dead on his arrival.

The bridge was fully reopened at 02:30 on Thursday, 16 hours after it shut.

Gwent Police said the HGV Mr Muntean was driving careered down an embankment on to land alongside the Welsh side of the bridge in Monmouthshire.

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No-one else was injured in the crash.

The bridge was closed after the crash, with the eastbound side reopening first at about 17:30 BST.

Image source, Crown

Image caption, The crash near the Prince of Wales bridge caused long tailbacks on the M4 between Bristol and Newport

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Image source, Charlie Chan

Image caption, The lorry hit the central reservation before crashing off the M4

Image source, Charlie Chan

Image caption, A passing surgeon said he performed CPR before the driver was taken to hospital in an air ambulance

Traffic was diverted over the M48 Severn Bridge throughout Wednesday afternoon, with tailbacks caused on the M5 and M4.

Highways England, which manages the bridge, said 600m (1,950ft) of the central and nearside barriers were damaged in the crash.

Image caption, The crash barrier was hit at two different points with reports on social media suggesting the HGV had hit the side of the bridge before crashing