The road was closed in both directions to allow emergency services to work at the scene
A six-year-old girl has died and a second child has been taken to hospital with a leg injury after a serious crash involving a lorry and a car.
Emergency services responded to reports of a collision on the A12 northbound carriageway near junction 28 shortly after 10.30am on Monday.
The road was closed in both directions to allow emergency services to work, but the six-year-old girl died at the scene. The second child is being treated in hospital.
The force said no arrests were made at the scene, with the lorry driver passing all road-side tests.
The lorry driver will be interviewed in the coming days, police said.
Detective Inspector Mark Fraser, of the serious collision investigation unit, said: “First and foremost, my thoughts are very much with this young child’s family and wider loved ones.
“We have specialist officers in place with them to ensure they are given as much support as possible.
“Our investigation is progressing and we will be interviewing a driver of a lorry in the coming days.
“Incidents such as this are clearly sensitive and complex and we are committed to fully understanding the circumstances around what happened yesterday.
“If you have any information, dash cam or footage of any kind which you have not yet shared with us, please get in touch.”
To submit a report to Essex Police online, visit www.essex.police.uk/digital101.
The force has asked that people who do so quote incident 421 of 10 August. Alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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