[05 FEB 01] CRIMES, FIRES & ACCIDENTS
Several Hurt In Motorway Pile-up

Huge tailbacks were caused on the M6 early today after a pile-up involving seven vehicles led to several people being taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The accidents happened on the M6 southbound between junction 4 and 3 at 2.26am.

A Ford Focus driven by a 29-year-old Rugby lost control and overturned and hit the rear of a Leyland DAF truck.

An ERF tanker came to a halt in the hard shoulder to avoid the wreckage, while a Mercedes lorry and a Peugeot 309 both hit the Ford Focus. The Peugeot spun alongside the central barrier.

A Vauxhall Vectra tried to avoid the Ford Focus, but in doing so was hit by a Saab 9000, which then careered into the tanker on the hard shoulder.

Two men in the Peugeot 309, from Aberdare in Wales, were taken to the George Eliot hospital in Nuneaton. The driver, aged 25, suffered serious facial lacerations. His passenger, aged 24, suffered a fractured cheek.

The driver of the Ford Focus, and the driver of the Vauxhall Vectra, a 52-year-old man from Cardiff, were treated for minor injuries and later released.

Heavy tailbacks built up on the motorway while the emergency services dealt with the aftermath of the crash.