Fatal M1 crash prompts calls for investigation into smart motorways

A STUDENT was killed and two others left in comas as a university sports trip ended in tragedy when their vehicle broke down on a smart motorway.

Zahid Ahmed, 19, died after the people carrier he was in came to a stop but did not reach an emergency refuge area before a lorry hit it. Four other Middlesex University students in the vehicle were taken to hospital.

They were returning from a universities pool competition in Birmingham on the M1, where the hard shoulder was opened to traffic near Luton.

A relative of one student who suffered brain injuries said an investigation needs to establish whether removing the hard shoulder and providing refuge areas roughly every mile puts stranded motorists at risk.

A report to the Bedfordshire and Luton Coroner’s Service said Mr Ahmed, whose family fled war in Afghanistan, died from “multiple traumatic injuries” after the vehicle “suffered mechanical failure on the M1 smart motorway”. It adds: “The vehicle was stationary with hazard light illuminated. A heavy goods vehicle then hit the rear, causing significant damage.”

The teenager was identified by his student cards, and pronounced dead at the roadside on Dec 1. It is believed that a student in his 20s who fell into a coma has since regained consciousness.

A lorry driver has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The Sunday Telegraph has revealed how motorists and passengers have been killed after becoming stranded in live lanes, formerly hard shoulders, partly because Highways England staff watching CCTV cameras covering the network struggle to detect stationary cars, and divert traffic into other lanes. In October, the Government ordered a review of smart motorway safety.

A relative of the student with brain injuries said: “Smart motorways need investigated further.” The Sunday Telegraph knows the names of the injured, but has chosen not to identify them.

Claire Mercer, whose husband Jason died when he became stranded on the M1, set up the Smart Motorways Kill campaign. She said: “The death toll keeps rising. The only hope is this government does something effective.”

Jill Greenfield, of Fieldfisher solicitors, which is representing three of the severely injured, said: “This is the most terrible tragedy. One young man has died, and three men in their 20s have had their lives devastated by a collision involving their vehicle and a lorry on a smart motorway.”

A Highways England spokeswoman said the incident was “tragic”. She said its sympathies were with those affected, and it is supporting the police investigation so it would be “inappropriate to comment”.