Police have named a man who was killed when in a horror crash in Essex as they continue their appeal for witnesses.

%image(15373867, type="article-full", alt="Police on Goose Lane bridge which goes over the M11 motorway near Birchanger which is closed after a van driver was killed in a motorway crash after what "appears to be a lump of concrete" struck his windscreen. Picture: JOHN STILLWELL/PA WIRE")

Andrew Brett, 61 and from Sible Hedingham, lost control of his van on the M11 near Birchanger on Wednesday after a lump of concrete came through his windscreen.

The crash, which happened on the northbound carriageway, saw Mr Brett’s Vauxhall Corsa van hit the central reservation barrier before it left the road and crashed into a tree.

A piece of concrete – around the size of a house brick – was found to have struck the windscreen.

Detectives investigating the crash have since ruled out a theory that the concrete was thrown from the Goose Lane bridge, which goes over the M11 in the Birchanger area.

Forensic work continued on the bridge throughout Thursday but police said yesterday that they are satisfied the concrete was not thrown from the side of the road.

It was not part of the masonry either, they added.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Pasmore of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: “As part of our enquiries, we closed the bridge at Goose Lane and the one about a mile and a half before it to carry out forensic examination work.

“We have now established the concrete could not have been thrown from either bridge, and nor was it part of the masonry. We are also satisfied it was not thrown from the roadside.

“We continue to keep an open mind as to how it came to strike the windscreen and ended up inside the van, and whether this was the result of a deliberate act or accidental.

“It is vital we speak to drivers who were travelling on the M11 Birchanger area, either north or southbound, at around 4.50pm.

“I am particularly keen to speak to anyone who saw the car in the moments before it struck the central reservation and then moved across to the nearside.

“I also want to speak to drivers on either the north or southbound side who saw an object in the road, or anyone who drove over an object on the northbound side.”

The Goose Lane bridge remained closed on Thursday for investigative work.

Contact the Major Investigation Room at Harlow on 01279621802 or email scdappeals.essex@essex.pnn.police.uk with information or dash cam footage.