M62 crash dad tells of ‘slow motion’ horror and how he wanted to survive for his kids

A father caught up in an M62[1] collision on Friday evening has described how paramedics told him they were fortunate not to have sustained more serious injuries. Carl Adams was travelling with his partner to Leeds on Friday night heading off for her early 40th birthday celebration weekend when the crash happened[2]. The 36 year old from Bridlington was behind the wheel of his partner's Volvo V40, travelling below the speed limit on the "quiet" motorway when he claims he spotted a lorry ahead switch on its hazard lights and pull towards the hard shoulder.

Assuming the HGV had a problem, he says he moved into the outside lane to provide it with maximum space when the vehicle was suddenly surrounded by smoke which cleared to expose a stranded Vauxhall Corsa positioned across the carriageway and directly in their path. The hatchback is understood to have struck the central reservation barrier, police have subsequently confirmed. The couple's vehicle then collided with the stationary Corsa.

Get all the latest and breaking news in Yorkshire by signing up to our newsletter here.[3] Carl said: "I didn't think there was anything particularly untoward having seen the lorry with his hazards on - which is why I gave him the widest berth that I could. This will sound a bit strange, but it seemed to go so quickly but also in slow motion - I recall everything that happened when we collided.

"My partner couldn't even get her door open and I didn't even look to see if anything was coming, I went around the car and got that door open and got on to the hard shoulder.", reports Hull Live[4]. Emergency services are believed to have arrived on the scene within minutes of Carl and the lorry driver making a 999 call. Despite being disoriented from the collision, Carl accompanied his partner to the hospital, where she was treated for painful scrapes and bruises before being discharged earlier this morning.

"The car is replaceable, I'm just more bothered about whether the other guy in the Corsa is ok," expressed Carl, voicing his concern for the Corsa driver who was hospitalised with a serious head injury. He further added: "I broke my hand because when I saw the crash coming, I put my arm across my girlfriend to protect her. That's the arm with the broken hand on it.

"I wasn't thinking about it because she was my priority. She was in tears straight away but it took me a while." Commending the emergency services and hospital staff, he added: "A car can be replaced and a bone can be healed but I wouldn't like my kids to have gotten a call to say 'dad's not coming back'".

The accident, which occurred around 9.45pm on Friday, resulted in a section of the westbound M62 being closed for over 12 hours.

Humberside Police are now appealing for witnesses as they investigate the incident.

Humberside Police stated: "We would appeal to anyone witnessed the incident or has CCTV or dashcam footage from around the time of the collision, to please call our non-emergency number 101 quoting log 437 of 9 January 2026."

References

1. ^ M62 (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
2. ^ crash happened (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
3. ^ signing up to our newsletter here. (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
4. ^ Hull Live (www.hulldailymail.co.uk)