Van driver dragged boy from burning car after smashing window with a jack in wake of M6 horror crash
By KIM PILLING
Published: 18:47, 3 April 2025 | Updated: 18:52, 3 April 2025
A good Samaritan used a jack to smash through the window of a burning car to pull a child to safety, a probe has been told.
Workman Gavin Walsh said he was a passenger in a Transit van travelling to Scotland when the horror smash on the M6 unfolded leaving five people dead.
An inquest into the crash last year heard the van had been behind a Toyota Yaris driven by Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, with his sons Filip, 15 and Dominic, seven, plus partner Jade McEnroe, 33, and her son Arran, also seven, as passengers.
They were returning home to Glasgow[1] form a break in Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire, when their car was hit just after 4pm on October 15.
Only Arran survived the fireball that ensued after RAF[2] pilot Richard Woods drove into the oncoming traffic on the motorway and hit their vehicle head-on.
Mr Walsh described how he jumped out of the van towards the front of the Yaris which was 'already engulfed in flames' after the crash and said: 'I could hear screams coming from the car.
'I used a jack to smash the rear windscreen and I saw a little boy in the back seat who appeared to be stuck but possibly alive.
'I was able to pull him from his seat and took him away from the car.
(Left to right) Jaroslaw Rossa and sons Dominic and Filip Rossa, along with Jade McEnroe and her son Arran Martin
Jade McEnroe was killed in the horror smash on the M6 along with her partner and his sons
'The boy was conscious and breathing.
'We spoke about football and what school he went to, I was just trying to keep him awake.
'We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
'I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.
'God bless you Arran, I have never stopped thinking about you. I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.'
Cockermouth Coroner's Court heard how Woods, 40, from Cambridgeshire, drove 1.1 miles on the fast lane of the northbound carriageway near Tebay for at least 57 seconds as several motorists swerved to avoid him.
Mr Rossa also tried steer clear of his Skoda speeding towards him but had no time to react.
HM Coroner for Cumbria Margaret Taylor was told Woods would have been prosecuted for four accounts of manslaughter had he survived as his action were found to be deliberate.
However, Ms McEnroe's parents Marie McEnroe and George McNellis told the corner they thought it had been murder.
She said: 'It was definitely murder.
That's the only word.'
15-year-old Filip Rossa, 7-year-old Dominic Rossa and 42-year-old Jaroslaw Rossa, who died in the crash on the M6
Smoke seen rising from the scene of the crash on the northbound stretch of the motorway near Tebay Services
Mr McNellis echoed her words saying: 'He definitely murdered my daughter.'
A statement from Kamila Rossa, the mother of Filip and Dominic and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, was read out at the inquest in her presence.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
The mother said she last saw her sons when they left for their father's house just five days earlier for a holiday and was sent photos of them by her ex the day before the crash.
Ms Rossa said she was 'devastated' at the deaths and added: 'Our lives will never be the same.
'I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.'
She described Filip as 'very intelligent', 'very sensitive' and 'full of love' with an ambition to study chemistry at Glasgow University.
Dominic, she said, had loved Pokemon and dinosaurs and was 'interested in many things in the world around him' explaining he'd dreamt of adopting a penguin one day.
Ms McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years and described her only child as a 'brilliant mother' who was 'really happy' with her partner.
She told the inquest that 'life changed forever that day', adding: 'I miss Jade every single day.
I want to know why?
Why them?
'Arran keeps us going every single day.'
Yesterday, Ms Taylor said the Skoda driver had 'totally disregarded the safety' of other drivers on the M6 on October 15.
The inquest concluded that Mr Rossa died from multiple injuries, Ms McEnroe died from smoke inhalation and trauma, Filip died of smoke inhalation, possible burns and trauma, while Dominic died of trauma.
The coroner praised the 'selfless acts of bravery' from those at the aftermath of the collision including Mr Walsh who went towards the burning car 'without hesitation for his own safety'.
She said: 'Without his swift response, Jade's child would also have perished.'
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: 'Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that.
'I wish you strength for the future.'
Last week at a separate inquest she concluded that Mr Woods's death was suicide.
He was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
Numerous searches on the subject of suicide were found on his mobile phone, the court was told.