Three days of chaos on M60 as woman left seriously injured, HGV overturns and taxi bursts into flames
There has been three days of chaos on the M60; with a woman left seriously injured in a major collision, a road sweeper tipping over onto its side closing the motorway for hours and a taxi erupting into flames on a slip road.
Emergency services have descended on three different scenes since Easter[1] Monday (April 1), with police, fire crews and paramedics having to work quickly to treat those involved and manage miles of congestion as a result of numerous closures.
The first incident struck on Monday afternoon, when a major collision involving two cars and a van was reported on the M60 between junctions 23 and 24.
An air ambulance was scrambled to the scene, landing in the middle of the carriageway after a woman was knocked down[3] while she was ‘assisting another vehicle’.
Greater Manchester Police[4] said the victim, who was rushed to hospital with serious injuries, was hit by the vehicle that had ‘left the carriageway and spun across the motorway towards the hard shoulder’.
Huge delays following the collision in which a woman was struck by a vehicle (Image: Submitted)
The busy motorway was closed off on the clockwise carriageway between junctions 23 and 24 for a number of hours after the incident. Traffic was stopped as police, paramedics and fire crews responded to the crash and investigation work took place.
Police were even forced to issue a number of warnings[5], urging motorists to stop filming the scene, leaving their cars to take their dogs for walk or buying an ice cream from an ice cream van also trapped within the closure.
Officers at GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit are now asking any witnesses, or anyone with dash cam footage, to come forward on 0161 856 4741, quoting incident number 1800 of 01/04/2024.
The second incident saw a taxi erupt into flames[6] on a slip road on Tuesday evening (April 2). Police, paramedics and fire crews raced to the scene of the blaze[7] that forced the slip road to be closed at the junction for the A34.
The taxi erupted into flames on the slip road (Image: Submitted)
Motorists reported delays of 40 minutes with queues continuing to build as the fire service worked to dampen the flames. It is understood there were no injuries reported in the blaze. Pictures of the aftermath show the white car had been badly scorched and was left completely burnt out to the rear.
And on Wednesday (April 3), the M60 was once again closed off for over five hours, late into the evening, after a road sweeper overturned in the middle of the carriageway.[8]
Dramatic pictures have showed how the HGV was tipped onto its side[9] in the middle of the M60[10], with the incident causing major delays[11].
Dramatic pictures have showed how the HGV was tipped onto its side in the middle of the M60, (Image: National Highways North West)
Rush hour traffic was backed up for miles following the collision, with emergency services, including the North West Motorway Police and Highways Officers attending the crash on the clockwise carriageway between junctions 4 and 5. The incident caused the clockwise carriageway to be closed off before recovery arrived at the scene.
References
- ^ Easter (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ Blackley fire: Emergency services issue ‘avoid the area’ warning as new images show extent of huge blaze (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ after a woman was knocked down (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ Greater Manchester Police (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ forced to issue a number of warnings (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ erupt into flames (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ Police, paramedics and fire crews raced to the scene of the blaze (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ road sweeper overturned in the middle of the carriageway. (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ tipped onto its side (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ M60 (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ major delays (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)