THE driver who died at the scene of a horrific crash last night was travelling with his wife and seven-year-old daughter at the time, it has been confirmed.

Dorset Police say the 43-year-old, from the Wimborne area, died at the scene of the crash on the A31, near Winterborne Zelston.

His wife, aged 37, and their young daughter were rushed to Poole General Hospital with serious injuries. Police say these injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Meanwhile, the driver of a Subaru car involved in the accident, a 28-year-old man from Taunton, Somerset, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

The Subaru driver was treated for minor injuries at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester, before being interviewed by police. He has been released on bail while enquiries continue.

Investigators are anxious to speak to a driver of a small green hatchback-style car, who may have witnessed the accident.

The A31 east of Bere Regis was closed for much of the night following the three-vehicle collision, which took place just before 6pm.

A Dorset Police spokesman said: “A blue Subaru car driven by a male from Somerset overtook an articulated HGV travelling west, and during the course of this overtaking manoeuvre has collided with a vehicle travelling east.

“The vehicle hit – a Skoda vehicle – was pushed off the road and the driver suffered fatal injuries as a result.

“The Subaru spun into another car travelling east, a Mercedes driven by a local man. That spun off the road into a roadside ditch.” The Mercedes driver was not injured.

Specially trained crash investigators spent hours at the scene afterwards to gather evidence. The A31 was finally reopened at 1.20am.

The police spokesman said: “We believe that during the initial overtaking by the Subaru another vehicle may have been inconvenienced, a small green hatchback-style car. Police are very keen to speak to this driver as he may have valuable information.

“Dorset Police would like to thank all the people who were inconvenienced by this collision, while the road was closed for a full forensic collision investigation.

“Dorset Police traffic department would also like to hear from any witnesses to the collision and would encourage them to call in on the telephone number 101, and ask for PC 1294 Smith from the traffic department at Poole.”