Car involved in fatal M6 crash was on wrong side of road, say police | UK news

A automotive concerned in a motorway crash through which 5 individuals, together with two youngsters, died had been travelling on the unsuitable facet of the highway on the time, it has emerged.

Cumbria police mentioned officers had been referred to as to a report of a Skoda travelling south on the northbound carriageway of the M6 close to Tebay Providers at 4.04pm on Tuesday.

The officers had been en path to the scene when additional calls had been acquired reporting the Skoda had been concerned in a head-on collision with a Toyota, the drive mentioned.

The 42-year-old man driving the Toyota, in addition to a 33-year-old lady and two boys aged 15 and 7, all from Glasgow, had been pronounced useless on the scene.

The 40-year-old Cambridgeshire man driving the Skoda was additionally declared useless on the crash web site.

A 3rd boy within the Toyota, additionally aged seven, was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, the place he stays in a critical situation.

All six individuals concerned within the crash have but to be formally recognized.

Police mentioned the motorway was closed from junction 36 to 39 and reopened within the early hours of Wednesday.

Chris Isles, a publican from Kirkoswald, close to Penrith, mentioned he was about 45 metres away from the crash and noticed black smoke and flames.

“From the place I used to be, 50 yards additional again, it simply appeared like a automobile fireplace,” he informed the PA Media information company. “I used to be parked up and I may see the smoke. It hadn’t actually occurred that lengthy. I actually will need to have been two minutes behind it taking place.

“I acquired out of my [camper van] and simply regarded down the road and between the strains of automobiles in entrance of me; I may see there was fairly a giant fireplace that began. This was at 4.10pm. Lower than 20 minutes later the air ambulance was there.”

Isles took a photograph of smoke billowing into the sky. He mentioned he was driving house and anticipating to be on the motorway for seven minutes however it ended up being three and a half hours. “I used to be up close to the entrance. They appeared to have turned everyone again from the again of the queue ahead. So the place we had been, we had been most likely a few of the final individuals to get off. It was about half previous seven after we finally acquired moved.”

He mentioned he felt “actually shocked” and was “pondering of the household of everyone” concerned. “It’s horrible. It by no means crossed my thoughts that there would have been 5 individuals killed. It’s terrible.”

The crash was additionally attended by Nice North air ambulance, the north-west ambulance service, Cumbria fireplace and rescue service and volunteer docs who had been a part of the Beep Medical doctors group.

The households of these concerned had been being supported by specifically skilled officers, Cumbria constabulary mentioned.

Police appealed for anybody with info to contact them on-line at www.cumbria.police.uk/report-it, quoting incident quantity 146 of 15 October 2024; or by phoning 101.