Emergency services to face inquiry on M6 death crash
It was a fatal motorway crash which resulted in an almost round-the-clock closure, causing major disruption around Birmingham.
Now a public inquiry will be held into the aftermath of the crash on the M6 between junction 5 and 6 in the early hours of February 4.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson has announced he plans to hold emergency services to account for their response to the the incident.
Mr Jamieson will host a public hearing into the multi-agency response in the aftermath of the fatal crash, to make sure that lessons are learnt and co-ordination is as strong as it can be in the future.
He has invited representatives from West Midlands Police and Highways England to the hearing, which will take place in Birmingham on March 18.
It is the first time a hearing of this kind has been held, according to the Commissioner.
Mr Jamieson will make recommendations on how the motorway can be re-opened as quickly, but safely as possible in future through better joint working.
He said: "Any death on our roads is a tragic loss of life and our sympathies go out to the family.
"In addition to which the huge tailbacks on the transport network which will have cost the regional economy millions of pounds.
"Whole day closures have a huge impact on the economy, therefore we need to make sure that organisations are held to account to make sure they are doing all they can to open the motorway as quickly and safely as possible.
"I will be publicly scrutinising the way in which all the agencies worked together to establish the level of multi-agency working that took place around managing traffic and re-opening the motorway in the aftermath of the incident.
"I have made supporting the regional economy one of my top priorities in my police and crime plan.
"These delays and lengthy closures have a huge impact on jobs and growth. That is why I am so keen that the agencies involved learn the right lessons going forward."
The crash led to huge delays across the region and the motorway itself was not fully re-opened for nearly 24 hours.
It is estimated that motorway closures cost over £1 billion a year to the UK economy, which has a big impact on jobs and growth.
People and businesses have been urged to submit evidence on how they were affected by the crash and the effect it had on them.
Evidence can be submitted online at www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/m6delay.
