POLICE today appealed for witnesses to a crash on a notorious stretch of the A415 near Witney in which a van driver died.

The death added to the rising toll on Oxfordshire roads.

So far this year, 67 people have died in the county, the highest toll in 16 years.

Eight people have died in the past five days and 11 so far in December.

Yesterday's casualties were a lorry driver who was crushed in his cab on the M40 and a van driver killed at the A415 blackspot near Witney, where two people have died in the last six weeks.

The M40 accident happened in freezing fog at about 9.15am when four lorries collided on the southbound carriageway near Aynho, between junction 11 and junction 10.

Paramedics and firefighters worked for 90 minutes to try to free the driver.

A surgeon from Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital was called to the scene because paramedics thought the man's arm might need amputating. However, the driver, who was still conscious when paramedics arrived, suffered a heart attack and died at about 10.45am, before he could be freed.

Fire service crew manager Russell Hurle said the lorry driver was trapped inside the cab by the upper deck of a car transporter in front.

He said: "The front wheels of the lorry had gone up on the bottom platform of the car transporter. The upper deck had gone straight through the front windscreen."

Traffic was diverted off the motorway on to the A422 and the A43, with delays of up to 90 minutes for drivers caught in the queues. The motorway reopened at 5pm.

In the second accident, which happened at 1pm, the driver of a white Ford Transit van died after his vehicle and a double-decker bus collided on the A415, outside Cokethorpe School, near Ducklington. Six people have died in accidents there in less than three years.

Today, Thames Valley Police appealed for witnesses to the crash to contact PC Michael Barrett at the Bicester Roads Policing Base on 0845 8 505 505.

Sgt Martin Percival, of the Bicester traffic police unit, said: "For some reason, they collided on this bend and we're now investigating how it happened.

"It was foggy and the road was slippery. Driving conditions are absolutely appalling and I appeal for motorists to slow down."

The driver of the van was in his mid-30s, but has not been formally identified.

The Tappins' bus was on its way to Witney and Eynsham from Abingdon. The seven passengers suffered minor injuries. They were treated at Witney Hospital.

Tappins' spokesman David Watson said the bus driver had minor hand injuries.

He added: "He's a bit shaken up, as you can imagine. It's a well-known blackspot and really it's up to the police and highways authorities to bring in traffic controls. It has to be attended to."

The road reopened at 7.30pm.