M6 lorry crash: Seriously injured driver taken to hospital as motorway is reopened
Two lorries crashed on the M6 this morning, leaving one driver seriously injured and delays of more than an hour for thousands of motorists.
The two HGVs - one carrying food stuffs - collided at around 11.20am on the southbound carriageway between the exit and entry slip roads at Junction 10 for Walsall.
The southbound side of the motorway was closed for around three hours while the debris was cleared away, with one lorry shedding its load and reports of engine coolant spilling across the surface. Drivers were sent off the M6 at Junction 10 and over the newly installed roundabout above the motorway before rejoining the carriageway at the other side of the interchange.
Emergency services including West Midlands Ambulance Service and West Midlands Fire Service attended the scene.
A spokeswoman for the ambulance service confirmed one of the drivers was seriously injured.
She said: "We were called at 11.19am to an RTC involving two lorries on the southbound carriageway of the M6 between junctions 10 and 9. HART paramedics, a paramedic officer, two ambulances and a MERIT trauma doctor and critical care paramedic attended the scene. Upon arrival we found a man who was the driver of one of the lorries.
"He was assessed and had potentially serious injuries. He received treatment at the scene before being conveyed to Walsall Manor Hospital for further assessment. No further patients required treatment.”
A spokesperson for West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service said: "At 11.20am on Thursday we responded to a collision involving two lorries on the M6 southbound near junction 10.
"Three fire engines attended, from Bilston and Aldridge fire stations and our Technical Rescue Unit.
"The collision happened in lane three.
"Firefighters freed a man from one of the vehicles using cutting gear and a specialist platform.
"He is understood to have been taken to hospital by the ambulance service.
"Our crews left the scene at around 1.15pm."
The crash led to long delays along the M6 and other motorways. Southbound queues stretched back to Junction 11 of the M6 and Junction 1 of the M54, while drivers heading north hit traffic between Junctions 6 and 7 on the M6 or by Junction 1 of the M5.
When the motorway was reopened at around 2.15pm, National Highways reported "residual delays of 75 minutes above usual journey times" in the area.
