A man was fighting for his life in hospital after crashing a black Mercedes van into iron railings on a busy route this morning.
Emergency services were called to the scene, on the Liverpool-bound carriageway of the A565 in Seaforth , at around 9.20am.
Police said it appeared the driver of the vehicle had suffered "a medical episode" before crashing into the barrier on Rimrose Road.
North West Ambulance Service sent a rapid response vehicle, advanced paramedic and ambulance to the scene.
A man in his 50s was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
No other vehicle was involved in the collision.
Police cordoned off the section of busy dual carriageway where the accident occurred, at the junction of Knowsley Road and Rimrose Road, for several hours afterwards.
The badly damaged van remained at the scene and officers could be seen examining it and taken photographs.
Liverpool-bound traffic was diverted on to Knowsley Road while the road closure remained in place, with queues of traffic stretching back to the flyover by Seaforth container terminal.
A police spokeswoman said: "We were called at 9.20am today, Tuesday 24th December, to reports of a one vehicle RTC on Rimrose Road/Knowsley Road.
"It appears that the driver of the car has had a medical episode and the car has been in collision with a barrier.
"The driver has been taken to hospital."
A spokeswoman for North West Ambulance Service said: "We have taken a patient, a man in his 50s, to hospital in a critical condition."
The road was fully re-opened to traffic at around 1.30pm.
