A lorry driver has died and a van driver is critically ill after two crashes on the A38 near Exeter.
The 32-year-old trucker from Torquay came off the Exeter-bound carriageway and careered into the hard shoulder of the Plymouth-bound lane said police.
About an hour later 37-year-old van driver Paul Cioffi from Ivybridge collided with the back of a truck in the Exeter-bound-lane at Haldon Hill.
He has been airlifted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.
Police said the first crash happened at about 06:00 BST and traffic backed up from it may have led to the second crash.
Both lanes of the dual carriageway will be closed until at least lunchtime.