AN EYEWITNESS has told how he watched a woman struggling with a man before she fell into the path of a lorry on Hull's busiest road yesterday.
The woman fell into the path of the white DAF truck as it drove along the A63 at Castle Street, near the junction with Dagger Lane.
The woman was not hit by the lorry, although she was discovered with injuries when emergency services arrived to help her.
Lorry drivers and passers-by came to the woman's aid and held the man until the police arrived.
Last night, a 51-year-old man was in police custody after the woman was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary to be treated for her injuries.
Detectives were waiting to interview the woman from her hospital bed to find out what happened.
One eye-witness said he was on the other side of the A63 with two friends as they watched the drama unfold.
The witness, who asked not to be named, said the woman fell on to the ground while the man seemed to be trying to pick her up.
He said: "Truck drivers jumped from their cabs and came to her aid and were soon joined by other passers-by. They apprehended the guy until the police turned up."
He said a PCSO was first to arrive on the scene although he claimed it took ten minutes for police to reach the scene.
Scenes of crime officers were gathering clues as the eastbound carriageway of the road was closed just after 1pm.
The closure of the main arterial road in and out of the city sparked hours of delays as city centre traffic ground to a standstill, with the A63 closed from the Mytongate roundabout.
Bob Rackley, commercial manager for bus company East Yorkshire Motor Services (EYMS), said: "All our services have been severely delayed.
"Anlaby Road and Hessle Road have been completely at a standstill as well as the city centre."
Stagecoach Travel also reported serious delays to services in the area.
Pictures taken by the Mail at the scene show an indicator from the lorry lying in the road, alongside other evidence markers, close to the crossing on the A63, near Dagger Lane.
The road was closed in one direction by police shortly after they arrived at the scene and remained shut until just after 4pm.
The police helicopter also flew overhead as officers started their investigation.
As well as severe disruptions to bus services, taxi companies were also affected.
John Hare, of 57 taxis, said: "Castle Street is the main road into the city and traffic just comes to a halt when there is an accident there.
"This then affects other major roads including Ferensway and Freetown Way, like it has done today.
"This just happened at the worst time coming up to rush hour, so, of course, buses and people arriving at the station would be affected."
Motorists stuck in traffic took to Twitter to post updates with one disgruntled resident reporting they had been stuck for 55 minutes and were still not moving.
EYMS also took to the social networking site to apologise to users for the delays on the majority of services.
One Twitter user said: "I've never known traffic like this and I go down the A63 most days."
A police spokesman confirmed the woman involved yesterday had been taken to Hull Royal Infirmary.
She said: "The woman has sustained some injuries, which are not thought to be serious, though the vehicle is not believed to have collided with her.
"The woman has been taken to Hull Royal Infirmary where officers hope to speak to her shortly to try to establish the circumstances of the incident."
Anyone with information in connection with the incident is asked to contact police on 101 quoting log 292 of Thursday, June 6.
