'We could have died in horror M61 crash - it changed our friendship forever'

A woman has spoken out about the night a horror crash almost her and a pal - and how the nightmare ended up bringing them closer together.

Mandy Keryk and Louise Chambers met at a gym in Preston and quickly bonded over their joint love of travelling and a zest for life.

The duo quickly became close and found they both enjoyed the Irish rock band The Script.

But on the way back from a concert in Leeds in November 2019, the pair were involved in a car accident.

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It was the first time Louise had been in a car with 44-year-old Mandy driving and the friends were "super excited" and enjoyed their trip together.

"Before midnight at the end of November 2019, we were on the M61 between Wigan and Bolton, the first two lanes were closed because there were roadworks," Mandy told LancsLive.

"It was 50mph and there was nothing in front of me that you could see, it was dead clear.

"Then out of nowhere, a car was in the sectioned off area without its lights on and it just pulled out in front of me."

Slamming onto her breaks, Mandy, from Preston, tried to react to the motorist who had appeared in front of her.

But sadly, the action was too late, and she lost control of the car.

The airbags inside deployed and her vehicle entered the central reservation, span across and hit the safety barrier on the hard shoulder on the other side of the carriageway.

Mandy added: "There was all sorts of smoke coming out of the car, but we didn't know if it was on fire or anything like that.

"We were just like 'we need to get out, we need to get out', but I couldn't open my door. Luckily, two people who were obviously further behind from Blackburn, they