A MAN has been charged with dangerous driving after a woman was hit by a lorry.

The elderly woman was airlifted to hospital after being seriously hurt in the accident outside Southend Fire Station in Sutton Road, Southend.

The driver of the lorry, a 43-year-old Romanian man, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and taken into custody.

Marcel Georgescu has since been charged and will appear at Southend Magistrates Court on Monday.

The road was closed from the roundabout with Eastern Avenue and the junction at Stock Road following the collision, in which a 77-year-old woman was knocked down by the lorry when crossing the road.

The ambulance service received a call shortly before 1pm and an ambulance, paramedic officer and the Essex Air Ambulance attended the scene.

The woman, believed to be called Rose, was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital shortly after 2pm, where she remains a critical condition.

 

Echo:

A spokesperson for the ambulance service said: "She sustained serious injuries to her chest, back and arm.

"Her injuries are potentially life threatening but she is not thought to be in at immediate risk of death.

"She was anaesthetised by the air ambulance crew and then flown to the Royal London Hospital."

Police want to identify the drivers of three vehicles which were approaching the scene at the time of the incident, including a white transit van with sign writing travelling towards Rochford and a white box van with a tail lift travelling towards Southend.

The driver of a white transit van without sign writing, which was heading towards Southend, got out of his vehicle and approached the scene.

He had dark hair and was wearing a white t-shirt.