Truck ploughs through central reservation into traffic 4 DEAD IN M5 CRASH
AT least four people were killed yesterday when a truck careered through a motorway’s central reservation into oncoming traffic.
Witnesses said one car was destroyed and another had been flipped over. Photos of the tragic scene showed a white lorry in a ditch.
The M5 near Bristol was closed in both directions after the horror crash. Drivers were stuck in six- mile tailbacks as emergency services dealt with the carnage.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: “We were called at just after 2.30pm to the collision between junction 15 and junction 14 northbound involving several vehicles, including a lorry. “Sadly at least four people have died.” Dr Amer Hamed, a cardiologist, missed the crash by “10 to 20 seconds”.
He was joined by a GP as they helped an injured woman in one of the cars.
Paramedics arrived about six minutes later and took her to hospital. Dr Hamed told the BBC: “There was a lorry involved and at least two other cars.
“One was absolutely destroyed and another had flipped over.”
Other motorists stuck on the carriageway also tried to help, he said.
Witness Rose Harris wrote on Twitter: “B****y hell. Lorry travelling southbound on M5 just crossed central reservation into oncoming traffic. Does not look good.”
Oli Dawes, also at the scene, wrote on Facebook: “It was an incredibly sad sight, I’ve never seen cars so mashed. So so sad.
“My heart sank as I eventually drove passed [sic], I knew people had died. I feel awful for the victims.”
Hundreds of Derby County fans leaving a Bristol City match at Ashton Gate were caught up in the traffic.
Thirteen ambulances were sent to the scene as well as the air ambulance.
Police said that stretch of the M5 was unlikely to open until 2am today, and diversions were put in place.
It was the second fatal accident on that part of the motorway. A man, 27, was hit by a lorry on Thursday after getting out of a vehicle on the hard shoulder.