Woman is killed in M1 horror crash
A WOMAN was killed in a crash on the M1 motorway late on Christmas eve.
Three vehicles were involved in the collision on the northbound carriageway in Bedfordshire at around 11.15pm.
The victim, who has not been named, was pronounced dead at the scene near to junctions 11 and 12 between Aylesbury and Flitwick.
Police are appealing for witnesses to the fatal crash which saw the M1 closed in both directions until shortly before 9am yesterday.
Pictures from the scene showed a crumpled car with shattered windows in the outside lane, and a forensic tent erected over the middle lane surrounded by ambulance workers and police.
hundreds of drivers who were heading home for Christmas found themselves stuck behind the emergency services for several hours.
A second unrelated accident happened on the southbound stretch of the M1 between Luton Airport and Dunstable.
emergency services attended the scene and a seriously injured person was taken to hospital by helicopter. A spokesman for highways england said extensive debris was left strewn across the road following the crash. however, it was cleared by 6.37am yesterday.
The motorway was hit with a third accident which closed two lanes between junctions 11 and 11A northbound in the morning. No serious injuries were reported.
elsewhere, a 57-year-old woman was killed in a car crash on Christmas eve in south Wales.
Two other people were injured in the single-vehicle incident on the A468 near Caerphilly and were taken to hospital.
The chaos comes after motorists were warned of ‘treacherous’ driving conditions on Christmas eve as the UK faced gale-force winds and potential thunderstorms.
About 98 per cent of roads and motorways have been cleared of roadworks to accommodate for the increased festive traffic.
The move is also intended to ease traffic for the tens of thousands of football fans travelling to today’s Boxing Day fixtures.
highways england spokesman Melanie Clarke said: ‘We know that the festive period is a busy time for football supporters and that’s why we’re doing everything we can to make journeys as smooth as possible.’