Child seriously hurt in motorway crash
ACHILD was taken to hospital with a serious head injury after a three-vehicle collision on the M56 motorway at Runcorn.
The youngster, who was eight years old, was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital as a major trauma casualty, North West Ambulance Service said.
A Cheshire police spokesman said the youngster was reported to be in a stable condition when officers checked for an update at 7.55am on Monday. The child was a passenger in a Renault motorhome involved in a collision with a green MAN truck and a red Nissan Qashqai, on the westbound carriageway between junction 11 Preston Brook and junction 12 Clifton, reported to emergency services at 12.50pm on Sunday.
The smash happened near junction 12.
An elderly woman who was a passenger in the front of the Nissan was taken to the Countess Of ● Chester Hospital to be treated for her injuries and the driver, although not injured, went to the same hospital as a precaution.
Cheshire Fire And Rescue Service said one appliance from Runcorn, one from Frodsham, one from Warrington and one from Lymm attended after it received reports at 12.57pm.
A female casualty had to be cut free during the operation.
The westbound carriageway was shut until about 2.30pm while emergency services responded to the incident, and the eastbound was stopped briefly.
Highways England said a diversion was in place.
The M56 motorway between junctions 11 and 15 has been the subject of speculation in recent years over whether funding should be found to turn it into a ‘smart motorway’, following a spell of harrowing fatal collisions and industrial incidents including a flaming tanker and a chemical leak.