Officers have urged members of the public to come forward after a road maintenance employee lost their life in a crash on the M23 near Crawley in the early hours of Wednesday 8 July.
Emergency crews arrived at the scene shortly before 1am following reports of a collision involving a van and a roadworker on the southbound lanes at Junction 9.
A 65-year-old individual from Kent was declared dead at the location. His family has been notified and investigators have expressed their sympathy to his relatives.
Photographs shared with The Argus reveal the magnitude of the emergency response and the hazards encountered by those working to maintain road safety.
One image depicts the typically busy southbound carriageway transformed into a corridor marked by traffic cones and closure barriers, with vehicles channelled into the remaining lanes while police and maintenance crews operate within an expanded safety perimeter.
Another shows officers and recovery teams gathered alongside vans and lorries on the deserted motorway as they continue the meticulous process of removing wreckage and gathering evidence.
Additional images display highway operatives dressed in high-visibility clothing carefully clearing broken fragments of equipment from the carriageway.
Collectively, these photographs underscore the close-proximity, unprotected conditions of working on active motorways and the potential dangers when incidents occur.
Sergeant Chris Ambrose of Sussex Police stated that investigators are conducting a thorough examination of the crash circumstances and are requesting anyone who saw what happened or possesses dashcam recordings to make contact.
The southbound route at Junction 9 was anticipated to remain inaccessible until mid-morning, with alternative paths arranged, and drivers were advised to seek other options.
The van driver, a 38-year-old man from Croydon, has been apprehended on suspicion of homicide through dangerous driving and alcohol-related driving offences. He remains in police detention.
Anyone with information or dashcam footage is asked to email Sussex Police at collision.appeal@sussex.police.uk, citing Operation Oakcross.