Trucker arrested after five die in M-way crash
A TRUCKER was arrested yesterday over a motorway smash that killed four women and a man.
The driver was held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after the 4.30am collision between an HGV and a car.
The five were in one car and died at the scene.
A sixth passenger was fighting for his life last night.
The smash closed the southbound carriageway of the M6 in Staffordshire for more than eight hours, causing a huge tailback.
Investigators said the dead, all adults, were four women and a man thought to be the driver.
A second man, in his 40s, was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital with serious injuries.
The car, a blue Nissan Micra, was ripped apart.
Several hours after the crash police were still working to formally identify all the victims.
The trucker, a 60-year-old from the West Midlands, was unhurt. With the carriageway at a standstill between junction 15 for Stoke and junction 14 for Stafford, part of the central barrier was removed to release vehicles on to the northbound side.
So much traffic had built up, drivers reported taking four hours to move five miles. Police thanked them for their “patience” and appealed for witnesses to call the non-emergency number 101.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “The car had been involved in a significant collision with an HGV. Sadly nothing could be done to save the driver and four passengers.”