Four Die In Coach Crash And Motorway Pile-Up

Three men were killed after a double-decker coach collided with their stationary car on the M1 in Bedfordshire.

Their vehicle was on the hard shoulder between junctions 12 and 13 when the collision occurred at 6.46am this morning.

A fourth man has been taken to a hospital in Oxford with serious injuries, but nobody on board the coach was hurt. The northbound carriageway of the M1 has now reopened to the public.

The coach driver has been arrested in connection with the crash, and is being interviewed by police in Luton.

Meanwhile, one man has died in a pile-up on the M40, with another fighting for their life in hospital. Six people were seriously hurt, and as many as 45 people have been left with minor injuries.

The crash occurred just before 7.50am this morning on the northbound carriageway between junctions 9 and 10 in Bicester, Oxfordshire. An estimated 30 cars were involved.

The M40 remains closed, while the northbound stretch on the M1 has reopened

That stretch of the motorway has now reopened, after being closed by the emergency services for nine hours.

Zara Smith, who was travelling to Stockport when traffic came to a standstill, described the scene as "carnage".

1/8

1. 
   Only one of the four men in the car survived the collision, and nobody on board the coach was hurt
2. 
   The pile-up on the M40 involved as many as 40 cars, according to Thames Valley Police
3. 
   Foggy conditions will play a "major part" in the investigation. One eyewitness described the scene as "carnage" and said she saw "a sea of metal"
4. 
   One man was killed, and another person is fighting for their life in hospital. Six others were seriously injured
5. 
   The incident unfolded on the northbound carriageway of the M40 between junctions 9 and 10
6. 
   'We haven't been hit by an accident this severe for many years,' Chief Inspector Henry Parsons said
7. 
   Meanwhile, three people were killed - and another seriously injured - after a coach crashed into a stationary car on the M1's northbound carriageway between junctions 12 and 13
8. 
   The road has now reopened, but the coach driver has been arrested in connection with the incident and is being questioned at a Luton police station
9. 
   Only one of the four men in the car survived the collision, and nobody on board the coach was hurt
10. 
    The pile-up on the M40 involved as many as 40 cars, according to Thames Valley Police

The 31-year-old said: "There was one large lorry which had jackknifed and was across three lanes of the motorway, and all these cars ahead of it. It looked like a sea of metal.

"It was really dense fog. For about half an hour before the accident, we were going in and out of patches of fog. By the time we stopped, we could only see one or two cars in front.

"We had stopped for coffee and petrol on the way and you think 'God, if we hadn't stopped we could have been in it', but you can't think that way."

Chief Inspector Henry Parsons of Thames Valley Police has confirmed the weather conditions will play a "major part" in the force's investigation - and said it is a "serious blessing" that more people were not killed in the pile-up.

"We haven't been hit by an accident this severe for many years. It does very much touch you personally - it is a horrible scene," he added.

Traffic was already busier than usual on the M40 as families began their travels for the half-term holidays.
:: Police have issued an appeal for anyone who witnessed the collision or has any information about it to call PC Matthew Bill at the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire collision investigation unit on 101.