Five dead after car ‘drove wrong way’ down major UK motorway

Five people have died, two of which were children, police have confirmed after a horror crash on a major motorway.

A Skoda, travelling down the wrong way of the M6 carriageway in Cumbria resulted in a head-on collision yesterday (October 15). In an update issued today, police confirmed they were called to the motorway at 4.04pm. 

They said a Skoda was travelling southbound on the northbound carriageway, and on their way to the scene, more calls flooded in telling officers of the head-on collision that had occurred with a Toyota.

A 40-year-old man from Cambridgeshire, the driver of the Skoda, was pronounced dead at the scene near Tebay Services.

Other victims included a 42-year-old man who was driving a Toyota, along with a 33-year-old woman and two boys aged 15 and 7 who were travelling in the same car, all from Glasgow.

A seven-year-old boy, also from Glasgow and travelling in the Toyota, remains in a serious condition and under the care of medics at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 

Formal identification of those involved is yet to take place, but families are being supported by specially trained officers.

Cumbria Police today thanked members of the public that offered their help at the scene and for the patience of motorists held up by delays. 

A spokesman said: “We would also like to thank those that have already been in touch who witnessed or have dashcam of the incident, we continue the appeal to anyone with information or with dashcam to contacts us.”