Woman and two children remain seriously ill after M5 crash that killed four people
Written by News on 17/09/2017
A woman and two children are seriously ill after a lorry smashed through the central reservation on the M5 motorway.
Four people died when the lorry collided with oncoming traffic as it was heading southbound towards Bristol.
It had careered across the northbound carriageway between junctions 16 and 14 in south Gloucestershire on Saturday.
Avon and Somerset Police confirmed four people had died and three others are in a life-threatening condition in hospital.
The driver of the lorry was also taken to hospital as a precaution.
All three lanes of the southbound carriage have reopened but work is continuing to reopen the northbound carriage.
Cardiologist Amer Hamed was in a car travelling seconds behind the crash. He and other medically qualified people stopped to help an injured woman.
Superintendent Simon Ellis praised emergency services and the public.
He said: "Emergency service personnel have been working tirelessly at the scene in harrowing conditions and I’d like to praise them for the work they’ve done and are still doing.
"I’d also like to thank the members of the public who courageously went to the aid of those involved in this collision and in some cases rescued them from their vehicles.
"Our priority is to ensure the victims’ next of kin are notified and supported, as well as the ongoing management of the scene, and this important work is ongoing."
He added: "We know this has been extremely disruptive to many people but we’ve had to prioritise the rescue and recovery operation and ensure we carry out a thorough investigation at the scene.
"This is painstaking work."
(c) Sky News 2017: Woman and two children remain seriously ill after M5 crash that killed four people
