Hero grandad died ‘saving wife’ in horror crash

David Lalgee, 64, died following a crash involving a lorry and four cars

13:17, 25 Mar 2025

A family said they were "shattered" following the death of a "hero" grandad who died in a motorway crash. Loved ones have paid tribute to David Lalgee, 64, who died after an incident involving a lorry and four cars by Swinton last Thursday, March 20.

Police believe the lorry had lost control and crashed[1] with two of the cars, before crossing onto the opposite carriageway and hitting another two vehicles. David was driving one of the cars and his wife, Jo Lalgee was a passenger.

The family say David, a pastor at Church Alive in Blackpool, saved Jo's life by swerving as he saw the lorry approach to take the brunt of the impact and protect Jo from harm, reports the MEN[2].

Sharing on a GoFundMe page set up for the family, David's son-in-law Reuben Morley, 35, said: "On Thursday (March 20) our hearts were shattered into a thousand pieces as we lost David to a tragic road traffic accident on the M60 motorway.

"David was a strong, loving and devoted husband, son, father, grandfather, brother and pastor, and was deeply loved by so many.

David's last moments on earth were spent how he so often lived, protecting the ones he loved, and because of his heroics on the night, nobody else lost their life."

No one else died following the crash, with a woman in her 20s suffering serious injuries which were not thought to be life-threatening, Greater Manchester Police said last week.

David's wife Jo, 57, told the MailOnline[3]: "David saved my life. It was a miracle that I walked away from the accident, he did everything he could to stop the lorry from hitting me.

"He sacrificed his life to save mine and I'll be forever grateful to him for that. When we saw the lorry break through the central reservation, David knew exactly what was going to happen.

"He said to me; 'Ok, here we go'.

He manoeuvred the car so that he took the full impact of the lorry.

"After the impact, we rolled several times. When we came to a stop, all the airbags had gone off, but I thought we were ok.

"But I could see David and there was blood streaming from his head. I got out of the car, and apart from a couple of broken ribs I was ok."

Despite the severity of the crash, Jo miraculously survived: "But the car had been completely crushed.

It was a miracle.

The doctors did everything they could for David, but they couldn't save him."

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the family, with over GBP900 raised so far.

To contribute to the fund, please click here[4].

References

1. ^ lorry had lost control and crashed (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^ the MEN (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
3. ^ told the MailOnline (www.dailymail.co.uk)
4. ^ here (www.gofundme.com)