Two lorry drivers arrested after eight are killed in M1 horror crash
EIGHT people have died and a fiveyear-old girl and two of her relatives are fighting for their lives in hospital after their minibus was crushed in an horrific collision with two lorries on the M1 near Newport Pagnell.
The driver of one of the HGVs was arrested on suspicion of drink driving. He and another driver were also being held on suspicion of dangerous driving, and both are currently in police custody.
The collision, involving lorries from FedEx and LM Logistics and a minibus, took place shortly before 3.15am yesterday.
Brett Smith fought to save the young girl, who was trapped in the minibus wreckage, giving her his jacket to keep her warm. “A family has been destroyed. I held a little girl by her arms, trapped inside a vehicle, for a good hour or so with the emergency services and the fire service trying to help,” he said.
“I walked home with a blanket that the ambulance service provided me to stay warm because the little girl has got my jacket to keep herself safe. The fire and ambulances services did a really good job.”
She is being treated at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. She and a man and woman have suffered life-threatening injuries, and another female relative has serious injuries. They were taken to hospitals in Milton Keynes, Coventry and Birmingham.
Six men and two women from the same family were killed.
Ch Insp Henry Parsons, from the Joint Operations Unit for Roads Policing, said: “The scene facing the officers who attended was complex and the recovery operation which followed was challenging.
“Officers are working to inform the next of kin of the people who died and specially-trained family liaison officers will be offering them their support. Some of those involved were visiting the UK from India and we are working to keep families abroad informed. This collision was deeply distressing for the members of the public who witnessed it, along with the emergency service workers who attended and displayed high levels of professionalism.
“I would like to reiterate it is vitally important that anyone who saw what happened, who has not already spoken to officers, comes forward with information.”
All the deaths were from the group travelling in the minibus, which had travelled from the Nottingham area. A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: “The four taken to hospital were also travelling in the minibus, of whom one is a child.” He added: “A 31-year-old man from Worcestershire has been arrested on suspicion of one count of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of driving a motor vehicle … above [alcohol] limit.
“Also, a 53-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent [has been] arrested on suspicion of one count of causing death by dangerous driving. They are both currently in custody.”
Ollie Miller, who witnessed the af- termath of the crash, said: “I was driving to the watch the football with my dad when we drove past the two lorries. It looked horrible. The two lorries were badly smashed and I could see a vehicle underneath one of the lorries.
“It was destroyed. The minibus was basically flat.
“I feel sorry for all those affected.” Thousands of motorists faced bank holiday gridlock after the southbound carriageway between J15 and J14 was closed for hours while emergency services worked at the scene.