NORTHBOUND lanes of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass have closed at Sandgate after a reported head-on collision sent two people to hospital in the early hours of Monday.
Emergency services were called to the scene near the Maitland Road intersection about 5.40am.
Crash investigators are on scene, with drivers urged to expect delays due to heavy traffic build-up and use diversions on Sandgate Road and Wallsend Road.
An Ambulance NSW spokesman said two cars were involved in the reported crash, with one landing on its side.
Bystanders helped one of two patients free of the wreckage, the spokesman said, before paramedics arrived to treat them both.
The first patient, a man in his 30s, suffered minor injuries and was taken to John Hunter Hospital as a precaution.
The other, a man in his 60s, was treated for chest injuries.
He was taken to the John Hunter in a serious condition accompanied by a critical care doctor, who had attended the scene as part of a specialist medical team.
One of two northbound lanes on Maitland Road also remained shut at 7.30am following a full closure to Maitland-bound traffic on the bypass itself.
The bypass reopened its northbound lanes shortly before 12.30pm.
