Police officer suffers 'life-threatening injuries'
Mark Denton/BBCA police officer has suffered "life-threatening injuries" in a car crash while responding to a report of a separate road collision.
Northumbria Police said it received a report that a silver Land Rover Freelander had hit a white Ford Explorer on the A189 Spine Road in Cramlington at 23:10 BST on Monday.
While responding to the incident a police officer was seriously injured when a black Mercedes CLC crashed into a marked police car. The officer remains in a critical condition in hospital.
The driver of the Mercedes, a 73-year-old man, has been arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and he remains in custody.
Police said they were appealing for information "after an officer sustained life-threatening injuries in a collision in Northumberland".
The initial incident saw the Ford leave the road and the occupants of the Land Rover flee the area on foot before police arrived.
No serious injuries were reported at that point.
Officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit have launched an investigation and the A189 has been shut from Moor Farm Roundabout to Laverock Hall Road.
Police said the road was expected to remain closed "for some time".
