THE family of a much-loved man who tragically died after being knocked over at the weekend say he will be “sorely missed” by all.

Shortly after 5am on Sunday, November 21 officers received a report of a collision involving a pedestrian and a heavy goods vehicle on the A194(M) eastbound at Gateshead.

Emergency services attended the scene of the collision, near the junction with the A195 and Follingsby Lane, and the pedestrian was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Sadly, Sam Johnson, 25, of Jarrow died on Sunday evening.

His family have paid a heartfelt tribute to Sam and say he will leave a huge hole in everyone’s lives.

In a statement, they said: “Sam was aged 25 and a much-loved son of Christine and Carl.

“He was a first class honours graduate of Northumbria University and was in the final stages of his accountancy professional qualifications at a city based accountancy firm.

“He was a loyal Newcastle United fan, and will be sorely missed by his family and friends.

“We would ask that our privacy is respected at this difficult time.”

An investigation is ongoing into the circumstances surrounding the collision which resulted in Sam’s death.

The driver of the HGV remained at the scene and is supporting officers with their investigation.

Inspector Dean Hood, of Northumbria Police, said: “Every death on our roads is always incredibly sad, but it is especially poignant when it involves somebody so young – and who had his whole future ahead of him.

“We will continue to offer Sam’s family any support they need and would ask everyone respects their privacy as they attempt to come to terms with what has happened.

“We are determined to finding out what happened in the moments immediately before this collision, and would continue to ask any witnesses – or anybody with information that they think could assist our investigation – to get in touch.

“If you were travelling in the area at the time, and have yet to do so, please come forward and speak to us.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of our website or by calling 101 quoting reference NP-20211121-0251.

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