Woman seriously injured as man and child also hurt in horror motorway crash after car 'overtakes lorry' and hits barrier

A woman was left seriously injured as a man and a child were also hurt in a horror motorway crash on Wednesday (March 14).

The M65 was shut off for almost 12 hours after the major collision near the junction for the M61 towards Manchester. Police said a Peugeot 208 had overtaken a Mercedes Atego HGV before 'losing control' at around 7pm.

The car then smashed into a barrier, before re-entering the carriageway and smashing into a number of other vehicles. The major smash occurred on the eastbound carriageway between junctions 2 and 3.

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The passenger of the Peugeot, a woman in her 30s, suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital. The driver of the Peugeot, a man in his 40s, and a child passenger suffered less serious injuries. The occupants of the other vehicles were uninjured.

The motorway was closed for almost 12 hours amid investigations into the incident, with witnesses now urged to come fow

Sgt Phil Baxendale, of the Specialist Operations Road Policing Unit, said: “This collision has left a woman with some serious injuries, I would appeal for any witnesses who have not yet spoken to police or anyone with dashcam footage, to come forward and speak to police.”

Anyone with information should call 101 quoting log 1217 of March 13 or email SCIU@lancashire.police.uk