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| Motorway chaos 'was not priority' | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Police have defended their handling of a fatal accident on the M2 motorway, which caused evening rush-hour chaos. | |
| Thousands of motorists were delayed after a man was struck by a bus on the motorway near Belfast on Tuesday. | Thousands of motorists were delayed after a man was struck by a bus on the motorway near Belfast on Tuesday. |
| All lanes countrybound were closed from York Street to Greencastle from about 1345 to 1800 GMT. | |
| A police spokesman said although dealing with the disruption was important, their main priority was to investigate what caused the accident. | |
| Translink said the bus involved was the Airport 300. No other vehicles were involved and no-one else was hurt. | Translink said the bus involved was the Airport 300. No other vehicles were involved and no-one else was hurt. |
| Passengers who were on the bus were transferrred to another to continue their journey. | Passengers who were on the bus were transferrred to another to continue their journey. |
| Our primary function at the scene of any fatal road accident is to find out how it happened Ian BlayneyPSNI chief inspector The driver of the bus was said to be shocked and shaken by the incident. | |
| Traffic was queued back to the Grosvenor Road on the Westlink which caused congestion around Millfield College Avenue and Fisherwick Place. | Traffic was queued back to the Grosvenor Road on the Westlink which caused congestion around Millfield College Avenue and Fisherwick Place. |
| Motorists found themselves static for hours as a result. | Motorists found themselves static for hours as a result. |
| The name of the man who died has not yet been released. | The name of the man who died has not yet been released. |
| Chief Inspector Ian Blayney told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster the accident had to be thoroughly investigated. | |
| "One of our priorities was to get the major disruption remedied, but our primary function at the scene of any fatal road accident is to find out how it happened," he said. | |
| "Somewhere down the line, there will be a coroner's inquest where the police investigation will be thoroughly scrutinised to see if it was comprehensive." | |
| 'Key transport corridor' | 'Key transport corridor' |
| Brian Maxwell from the Roads Service said they did their best to keep the traffic moving while motorway lanes were closed. | Brian Maxwell from the Roads Service said they did their best to keep the traffic moving while motorway lanes were closed. |
| "Whenever we lose a key transport corridor like the M2 northbound, which carries about 60,000 vehicles a day and 6,500 at the evening peak, that traffic has to transfer to the urban road network," he said. | "Whenever we lose a key transport corridor like the M2 northbound, which carries about 60,000 vehicles a day and 6,500 at the evening peak, that traffic has to transfer to the urban road network," he said. |
| "That's when the demand exceeds the capacity of the network, resulting in congestion. | "That's when the demand exceeds the capacity of the network, resulting in congestion. |
| "We had to manage that traffic for as long as the road was shut, and police had the responsibility to investigate the incident." | "We had to manage that traffic for as long as the road was shut, and police had the responsibility to investigate the incident." |