Builders were first on M54 smash scene

Two builders who were first on the scene of a horror smash on the M54 near Wolverhampton which left a man with life-threatening serious injuries today spoke of how they tried to help him.

David Hill and Steve Samuels were driving to work together along the eastbound carriageway of the motorway when a red Hyundai Matrix parked on the hard shoulder was hit by a lorry on Wednesday.

The pair, who work together in Bushbury and both live in Telford, said they saw pieces of metal fly through the air before they realised a car had been hit.

Father-of-three Mr Hill, aged 44, said they found the 57-year-old driver unconscious and slumped forward with blood pouring from his head.

"He didn't seem to be breathing when we got to his car," Mr Hill said. "The door was jammed and we started kicking it to try and get it open. When we managed to open the door, the man was slumped forward and had blood pouring from his head and nose. He looked in a bad way."

Mr Hill then ran to the phone box at the side of the motorway and called the emergency services. He continued: "The car was in such a bad state. It had been crushed so badly it just looked like half a car."

Mr Hill and father-of-one Mr Samuels, 40, also got sand from the back of their blue Ford Transit Connect Van and scattered it on top of petrol that had spilled onto the road.

The driver of the Hyundai Matrix, who suffered a head injury, broken right arm and collapsed lung, remains in a critical condition at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

The accident between the car and Volvo tipper lorry closed the carriageway in both directions and caused long tailbacks along the A449 and A41 as diversions were put in place.

The crash happened on the eastbound carriageway, between junction two for Wolverhampton and junction three at Albrighton, shortly before 9.50am. The westbound carriageway was also closed for around an hour to allow the Midland Air Ambulance from Cosford to land safely.