A DRIVER was killed after a car crashed into a parked lorry and caught fire.

The green Ford Focus struck the Renault lorry that was parked in a layby on the northbound A34, between Islip and Kidlington junctions, at about 5.20am yesterday.

Fire chiefs believe diesel from a forklift truck on the back of the lorry spilled on to the car causing it to catch fire with the driver still inside.

The driver, from Oxford, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers were last night trying to identify the victim, who was driving alone, and said the cause of the crash was not yet known.

They did not say whether the victim was a man or a woman.

Thames Valley Police closed the northbound carriageway following the incident and reopened it at 11.30am.

Long tailbacks built up along the A34 and a minor crash in the queueing traffic added to delays.

Police said the lorry driver was asleep in the cab at the time of the collision and the car was already on fire when a police car arrived to investigate.

An officer then raised the alarm.

The back of the lorry also caught fire, although the lorry driver was not injured and did not need hospital treatment.

Rob MacDougall, group manager at Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “One small car went into the rear of a curtain-sided lorry.

“There was a forklift truck on the back of a lorry, which was diesel operated.

“We believe the fire broke out because diesel was released from the forklift on to the hot car.”

He added: “Cars don’t normally burst into flames.”

Crew members got the fire under control within minutes, he said, but the flames had already engulfed the car.

Thames Valley Police said: “A green Ford Focus collided with a Renault articulated lorry parked in a layby.

“The Ford Focus caught fire on impact, resulting in a fire affecting both vehicles.

“The driver of the Ford Focus was declared dead at the scene and inquiries are ongoing to identify the deceased.”

Gill Hodgetts, spokesman for South Central Ambulance Service, said: “We attended with an ambulance and two officers, but the car driver was deceased at the scene.”

The lorry was parked in a layby, just before the Bletchingdon Road passes over the A34.

At about 9.30am, a Citroen Saxo drove into the back of a Land Rover about 200 metres before the fatal collision site, causing further delays for queueing motorists.

Firefighters cut the 18-year-old Saxo driver free.

She was taken to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital with minor injuries.

The Land Rover driver was uninjured.

Sgt Peter Jell appealed for witnesses who saw the fatal collision or the Ford Focus prior to the crash.

He said: “While the circumstances of the collision are still unclear and are being investigated, I would like to take this opportunity to remind drivers to adjust their driving to the conditions that we have been seeing on the county’s roads over the past week.

“Slow down, keep a safe distance from the car in front, use your lights and allow more time for your journey.”

Anyone with information should call Pc Sarah Holmwood on 08458 505505.