Police probing a horror crash which killed four Scots have said that the car that collided into them ‘head on’ was driving the wrong way down the M6.
A 42-year-old man, a 33-year-old woman and two boys aged 15 and seven – all from Glasgow – were pronounced dead following the crash on the M6 northbound in Cumbria. Emergency services, including two air ambulances, were called to the two-vehicle smash, involving a Skoda and Toyota, on the M6 Northbound just past Tebay services in England at around 4pm on Tuesday.
The 40-year-old driver of the Skoda was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. Four people from Glasgow in the Toyota vehicle, which included the male driver, died at the scene.
A third child, another boy aged seven from Glasgow, was rushed to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle by air ambulance where he remains with serious injuries.
Cumbria Police have now confirmed they received a report that the Skoda had been travelling southbound on the northbound carriageway. Officers were on route when further calls were received it had been involved in a head on collision with the Toyota.
The families of the people killed in the smash are currently being supported by specially trained officers. The M6 Northbound carriageway reopened in the early hours of this morning following the crash.
Photographs on social media showed a plume of black smoke rising into the sky above the motorway at the site of the crash. The images also showed the tailbacks created by the incident, with traffic backed up across all three lanes of the motorway.
Local resident, Chris Isles, said he was around “50 yards” away from the accident on Tuesday and saw black smoke and flames. The 58-year-old, from Kirkoswald near Penrith in Cumbria, told the PA news agency: “From where I was, 50 yards further back, it just seemed like a vehicle fire. I was parked up and I could see the smoke. It hadn’t really happened that long. I literally must have been two minutes behind it happening.
“I got out of my (campervan) and just looked down the line and between the lines of vehicles in front of me, I could see there was quite a big fire that started. This was at 10 past four. Less than 20 minutes later the air ambulance was there.”
Mr Isles, who captured a photo of smoke billowing into the sky, was driving home and was expected to take only seven minutes to drive from junction 38 to 39, but said he was stuck in “standstill” traffic for around three and a half hours.
Mr Isles, who is a publican, said: “I was up near the front. They seemed to have turned everybody back from the back of the queue forward. So where we were, we were probably some of the last people to get off. It was about half past seven when we eventually got moved.”
He said he feels “really shocked” at the incident and is “thinking of the family of everybody”. “It’s terrible. It never crossed my mind that there would have been five people killed. It’s awful,” he said.
A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said: “We are appealing for witnesses to a fatal collision on the M6 Northbound past Tebay Services. Officers were called to the incident at 4:04pm yesterday (Oct 15) The collision involved two vehicles – a Skoda and a Toyota. The driver of the Skoda, a man from Cambridgeshire was pronounced deceased at the scene.
“The driver, a man, a woman and two children in the Toyota from Glasgow were also pronounced deceased at the scene. A third child in the Toyota was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle with serious injuries. The families of those involved are being supported by specially trained officers. The M6 Northbound fully reopened in the early hours of this morning.
“Anyone with information relating to this incident can report online at https://orlo.uk/IzuxI, quoting incident number 146 of 15 October 2024. You can also phone on 101. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.”
A spokesperson for the Great North Air Ambulance Service added: “Yesterday at 4:19 PM, our critical care teams were dispatched to an incident on the M6 near Tebay.
“The Pride of Cumbria II arrived on scene in just eight minutes. Our doctor and paramedic team provided immediate treatment to one patient before airlifting them to the hospital.
“We worked in close collaboration with the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Cumbria Police, Beep Doctors and Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service to ensure the best possible care for all involved. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with everyone affected by this incident. “
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