A motorcyclist in his fifties was taken to hospital in Tunbridge Wells with suspected broken ribs following the incident while the driver of the lorry was treated for shock at the scene. A passing lorry was also partially crushed by the falling bridge.
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The 170 tonne bridge above the M20, one of the country’s busiest motorways fell on top of two trucks on Saturday.
The graphic designer, a passenger travelling from Maidstone to Sevenoaks, said: “The motorcyclist was laying down underneath his bike”.
His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Reports said vehicles were queuing for more than four-and-a-half miles along the road where some13 million drivers are expected to take to the road between Friday and Monday.
Andy Sunnucks, 24, who also saw the incident, said: “We were about 15 cars back on the same carriageway as the collision”.
‘The side I’m on, the bridge is still hanging, and obviously the traffic has been stopped.
The M20, one of two motorways that link London with the cross-Channel port of Dover and the nearby Eurotunnel terminal, was closed in both directions. “We went to the wreckage and saw the lorry and the man underneath. Traffic will be heavier than usual”.
“Officers are in attendance along with Kent Fire and Rescue Service and South East Coast Ambulance Service”.
Highways England agency spokesman Stuart Thompson said safety checks had proven “very complex”, particularly on the part of the bridge that still looms over the highway’s eastbound lanes.
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The M20 and connected motorway M26 will remain closed until the area is cleared. Highways England had earlier said the westbound was open.
