Dad died in crash and injured two others after driving wrong way on the M6
A dad died in a head on crash when he drove the wrong way down the M6 after taking cocaine.... A dad died in a head on crash when he drove the wrong way down the M6 after taking cocaine. Noel Sutton drove the wrong way down the southbound carriage of the M6 for around two miles crashing into another car near Charnock Richard, resulting in his death and serious injuries to the two occupants of the other vehicle.
An inquest at Preston Coroners Court on Friday (27 February) heard that Noel was believed to be travelling from his home in Ribbleton to visit his son in Leyland on the night of October 26 last year. He was involved in two crashes, one a minor collision before reaching the motorway and the second which took his life. In evidence summed up by coroner Richard Taylor, Christina Froggatt explained she first saw Noel's car at the junction of Blackpool Road and New Hall Lane, near the Hesketh Arms pub, at around 9pm and noticed it had no lights on and must have passed through a red light. A few minutes later, she was waiting to enter a roundabout when she noticed the same car approaching in the rear view mirror and, based on speed, could tell it was going to crash into her car. Unable to move, she released the brakes to minimise the impact and was pushed forward. She said that after the cars collided, Noel opened his door but remained in his car and when she spoke to him she believed he had been drinking as his speech was slurred and his movement laboured. He denied this was the case and passed on his phone number and name, which was misheard as Neil, but dismissed the crash as not serious, telling her "it was just a shunt, love".
As such, she reported her concerns to the police. Another driver, Andrew Pyle, witnessed Noel later on once he had re-entered the motorway but this time on the wrong side. In a statement read by Mr Taylor, he said: "I was driving in lane two and noticed what appeared to be headlights from the side of the service station on the hard shoulder.
It looked like a car had come the wrong way from the service station and was now positioned on the hard shoulder. The car was either positioned stationary or travelling very slowly". Mr Pyle suggested the occupant of the car may have been considering what to do at that moment and he was one of five people to contact the emergency services about a car travelling the wrong way.
It is unclear what happened between then and the collision but Noel had managed to travel two miles and move to the outside lane when he struck a Toyota Corolla head on. The driver, named in court as Mr Saleh, was driving to his home in Stafford with a passenger when he saw what appeared to be bright lights approaching them. He said it was too late to take any evasive action and he passed out at the point of impact.
Both men in the Toyota were seriously injured and the passenger, Mr Hussain, said he remembered being unable to speak after the crash when a police officer asked if he was OK. PC Kavanagh, a collision investigator from Lancashire Police, said the investigation concluded that Noel was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash and was travelling at 42mph at the point of impact, with the other car estimated to be around 60mph. A toxicology report found that Noel showed evidence of recent cocaine use which "may have affected his behaviour and driving" as well as cannabis use.
The inquest heard that while Noel had accessed mental health services for anxiety in previous years, he had never expressed any suicidal thoughts or intents. Family members attending his inquest said they were at a loss to explain or understand what happened, noting that Noel would not normally drive after drinking alcohol, let under any other influence. The most likely suggestion, they believe, is that Noel missed the exit he needed and then left the wrong way from the service station.
That said what happened that night was out of character but agreed there was no belief he had intended to end his life, with one family member stating: "There is no way if he was going to end his life that he would hurt someone else. That's not who he was." They also asked the police officers present at the inquest to pass on an apology and sympathy to the occupants of the other vehicle. Concluding the inquest, coroner Richard Taylor said: "Noel Martin died on the 26th of October 2025 on the M6 motorway near Charnock Richard, Chorley, from injuries sustained when he was in a collision with a vehicle as he travelled in the outside lane of the motorway against the flow of traffic.
He was not wearing a seatbelt and was under the influence of drugs which was likely to have impaired his behaviour and decision making." Support Blog Preston: Keep our community reporting going and view the website without any adverts too. Sign up for a membership today[2]. Stay updated: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel[3] and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter[4].
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