TWO people died and four others were badly injured in a tragic two days on Sussex roads.

A 55-year-old cyclist from Peacehaven was killed in a collision with a white truck near Poynings yesterday morning.

The road remained closed for more than eight hours as police carried out investigations into the crash.

The truck driver, a 29-year-old man from Brighton, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

He has been taken into custody for questioning as police continue to make enquiries.

The Argus:

The cyclist was the latest casualty during an unprecedented 48-hour spell in which police, ambulance and fire crews were inundated with call-outs to crashes across the county.

In the early hours of Thursday, police received reports of another fatal accident on the A27 near Folkington Manor, Polegate.

A 22-year-old woman from Bexhill who was a passenger in a Ford Ka died at the scene.

The car was in collision with a Ford Transit van.

The Ka driver, a 27-year-old from Hastings, and the Transit driver, a man aged 54 from Polegate, were both taken to hospital with critical injuries.

The Argus:

Yesterday lunchtime, another cyclist was involved in an accident, this time in the centre of Brighton.

He was in collision with a bus in North Street, near the Clock Tower, at about 12.40pm and suffered head injuries.

The cyclist was treated at the scene before being taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

Kevin Carey, operations director for Brighton and Hove Buses, said the incident had been reported to the company at 12.41pm.

He said: “The passengers and the driver are all safe and did not incur any injuries.”

The Argus:

The calls kept on coming for police, ambulance and fire teams.

An inferno erupted at an industrial site off Chartwell Road in Lancing sending black clouds of smoke billowing into the air. 

But, as West Sussex Fire and Rescue teams rushed to the scene shortly before 3pm yesterday, one crew spotted another crash – this time on the A27 Upper Brighton Road in Sompting.

The collision, involving a motorbike and a van, was little more than a mile from the site of the blaze.

As other units continued to the blaze, the Technical Rescue Unit stopped and administered first aid to the rider.

The Argus:

The casualty was then passed into the hands of ambulance and air ambulance crews, who quickly arrived at the scene.

They assessed the rider’s health before taking him to Worthing Hospital for further treatment.