Two people have been taken to hospital after a crash between a car and a coach on the A19.
The driver of the bus was one of the people injured in the collision in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Emergency services were called to the scene near the A690 Durham Road shortly after 5am.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service sent four appliances and their heavy rescue vehicle and police fully closed the road.
The southbound carriageway was closed between the A183 Chester Road and the A690 until just before 8.30am.
A spokeswoman for the North East Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 5.08am to a road traffic collision between a coach and a car on the A19.
“We dispatched one vehicle from our Hazardous Area Response Team and two double-crewed ambulances.
“Two patients have been taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital A&E.”
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Shortly after 5.10am today (Wednesday), we received a report of a two-vehicle crash on the A19 southbound at Houghton-le-Spring near the A690 turn-off.
“Emergency services attended and found a bus had been in collision with a car. The male driver of the bus was taken to hospital.
“The southbound carriageway was fully closed to allow a clear-up operation to take place, but has now reopened.”
