Car 'drove wrong way down M6' before horror smash killed five

Two children are among those who died

A driver in a horror fatal M6 smash was travelling on the wrong side of the road, it has emerged. The tragedy claimed the lives of five people, including two children.

Cumbria Police said officers were called to a report of a Skoda travelling south on the northbound carriageway of the M6, near Tebay Services, at 4.04pm on Tuesday, October 15. Officers were on their way to the scene when they received further calls reporting that he Skoda had been involved in a head-on collision with a Toyota.

A 42-year-old man driving the Toyota, a 33-year-old woman, a 15-year-old boy and a seven-year-old boy, all from Glasgow, died. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

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A 40-year-old man, from Cambridgeshire, who had been driving the Skoda was also declared dead at the scene of the crash, Mirror reports.A third boy in the Toyota, also aged seven, was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle.

It is understood he remains in hospital in a serious condition. All six people involved in the crash are yet to be formally identified.

Photographs on social media showed a huge plume of black smoke rising into the sky above the motorway following the collision. Images captured tailbacks, with traffic backed up across all three lanes of the motorway.

Four fire engines from Penrith, Kendal and Shap were dispatched to the scene. Fire crews remained at the scene for several hours.

A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said: "The families of those involved are being supported by specially trained officers. Officers would like to thank members of the public that assisted at the scene and those affected by the collision for their patience.

"We would also like to thank those that have already been in touch who witnessed or have dashcam of the incident, we continue the appeal to anyone with information or with dashcam to contacts us. Anyone with information relating to this incident can report online at www.cumbria.police.uk/report-it, quoting incident number 146 of October 15.

"You can also phone on 101. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111."