Police have appealed for witnesses to the crash that closed a section of the M11 near Loughton this morning.
Police officers, fire crews and the ambulance service were called shortly after 7.10am after four vehicles crashed on the southbound carriageway between Junctions 4 and 5.
The vehicles involved were a Ford Ka, a Volkswagen Passat, a Ford Transit van, and a Citroen van.
The female driver of the Ka suffered a head injury and needed to be cut free from her car by fire crews who used cutting equipment to take the roof off her car. She was taken to Queens Hospital, Romford.
The closure of the southbound carriageway caused chaos for commuters but reopened at 9.25am.
Police are investigating the circumstances leading to the collision and the Transit van driver has been reported for careless driving.
Any witnesses who have not yet contact police should call the investigating officer, Pc Mike Bignell, at Chigwell road policing office on 101.
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