Tragedy as ‘heroic’ grandad died while ‘saving wife’ in M60 horror crash

Tributes have been paid to pastor David Lalgee

09:23, 25 Mar 2025

A family have been left 'shattered' after a grandad died a 'hero' in a horror crash on the M60.

Tributes have been paid to David Lalgee, 64, who died following a crash involving a lorry and four cars near Swinton[1] last Thursday (March 20).

Police believe the lorry had lost control and collided with two of the cars, before crossing onto the opposite carriageway and hitting another two vehicles.

David was behind the wheel of one of the four cars alongside his wife, Jo Lalgee, who 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.

Posting on a GoFundMe page[2] to support 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[3] 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[4] said last week.

Recalling how the horror unfolded, David's wife Jo said it was a 'miracle' that she survived the crash.

The 57-year-old told MailOnline[5]: "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.

"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."

More than GBP900 has been raised to support the family on the GoFundMe page so far.

To donate, click here[6].

References

1. ^ Swinton (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
2. ^ GoFundMe page (www.gofundme.com)
3. ^ M60 (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
4. ^ Greater Manchester Police (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
5. ^ told MailOnline (www.gofundme.com)
6. ^ click here (www.gofundme.com)