Four seriously hurt in M6 crash

Updated 20.01 Sat Mar 22 2008

Keywords: crash, M6, Cheshire

Four people were left with serious injuries after six vehicles were involved in a pile-up on the M6.

Cheshire Police said a red Land Rover containing five people crossed the central reservation between junctions 16 and 17 of the motorway just south of Sandbach, Cheshire, hitting four vehicles on the southbound carriageway.

A spokesman for Cheshire Police said a red Land Rover was travelling north when it went on to the southbound carriageway, hitting four other vehicles

Another car crashed into the central barrier while taking evasive action.

Eight people were hospitalised after the smash.

A man and a woman from the Land Rover, both aged 53, were airlifted to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, where they remain in a serious condition.

The other occupants - a 13-year-old boy, a 21-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman - were all treated for minor injuries at Leighton Hospital in Crewe along with a 61-year-old woman.

A woman aged 32 suffered back injuries, and a 60-year-old man was also said to have been badly hurt.

A spokesman for Lancashire Ambulance Service said crews described the crash as "horrific" and said those involved were "lucky to be alive".

The crash happened at 10am, causing severe congestion for more than four hours until police reopened the motorway.