A woman driver has been killed and two more seriously injured in a four-vehicle smash which partly closed the M6 in Lancashire.
A woman driver has been killed and two more seriously injured in a four-vehicle smash which partly closed the M6 in Lancashire.
The motorway was shut for more than six hours after two cars, a van and lorry were involved in a collision between juncti
ons 32 and 33 at around 1.15am on Friday. The M55 slip road was also closed eastbound at the Broughton interchange.
The woman driver of a red Ford Escort, thought to be from the south coast, was pronounced dead at the scene north of Bilsborrow. A female passenger in the same vehicle was rushed to Royal Preston Hospital where she is suffering from "severe brain injuries".
A man driving a red Vauxhall Astra suffered "severe arm injuries", while the male driver of a white Mercedes-Benz Sprinter suffered minor injuries. A man driving a HGV from Scotland escaped unharmed.
Fire rescue teams from Fulwood, Preston and Garstang freed three people and two dogs from the cars.
Dominic Fellows, the crew manager at Preston Fire Station, said: "It was chaotic. One vehicle had hit the central reservation, the van was across the hard shoulder and first lane and the Astra was straddled across the middle lane."
The accident led to chaos on the county's main routes on Friday morning as vehicles were diverted onto nearby roads such as the A59 and A6. The motorways were reopened at around 8.15am.
But traffic was made worse by another accident on Lightfoot Lane in Fulwood, where a motorcyclist was rushed to the Royal Preston Hospital with "serious injuries" after being involved in a collision with a saloon car. This led to the A6 being shut for 30 minutes at around 7.20am.
One driver said: "It was absolute chaos. The A6 at Watling Street Road was like a dodgems track. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a double decker bus do a U-turn in the middle of the road.
"I was alarmed when traffic would not move out the way of an ambulance."
A lorry also broke down in the second lane of the M6 northbound at junction 31 which caused further delays.
Police say a full investigation is now taking place and they are still trying to identify the victims.
Call 0845 1253545 if you have any information which could help the police.
