Police appeal for information after serious M5 collision on Christmas Eve

Shortly before 7.00pm on Wednesday, December 24 Gloucestershire Constabulary and the emergency services received the first of a multiple of 999 calls reporting an RTC on the M5 motorway northbound between junction 13 Stroud/Stonehouse and junction 12 Gloucester south.

  The incident was attended by all three of Gloucestershire’s emergency services as well as the Highways Agency and, later in the evening, the police helicopter from the National Police Air Service based in Filton.  

The collision involved six vehicles on the north bound carriageway and at least two vehicles on the south bound carriageway, which collided with debris from the initial incident on the north bound section. 

The collision occurred approximately half a mile from junction 12, with debris spread across all three lanes and the hard shoulder of the north bound section and parts of the south bound section.  The occupants of some of the vehicles had to be extracted by the Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue service who remained in attendance to make the scene safe.

The vehicles involved in the north bound collision were a white Citroen Berlingo van, a Mercedes saloon car, a silver Peugeot estate car, two small Honda hatchbacks (one blue and one silver) and a small Toyota hatchback. 

The 38 year old female driver of the Berlingo van, local to the Ross-on-Wye area, was taken to the regional trauma centre at Southmead hospital in Bristol where she is in a serious but stable condition.  

The occupants of the other vehicles involved sustained a range of injuries which, after initial assessment at the scene, were not deemed to be life threatening or serious.

One of the officers who attended the scene, PC Billy Jenkins, from Gloucestershire Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit, said: “To attend an incident such as this at any time of the year is incredibly sad and traumatic, it will have undoubtedly have affected many people who travelled on the M5 and particularly those who were involved in it and who witnessed what happened. 

"At Christmas it is especially difficult, a time when many people are returning to their homes to visit their family and friends.  Our best wishes and thoughts are with those involved, their family and friends and of course to those who saw what happened."  

He continued by saying that:  "it was an incredibly difficult and complex scene that spread over large sections of the motorway which didn’t make it any easier in moving and releasing the backlog of traffic  - we cannot thank enough those people who were so patient and helpful during this period."

The scene was spread over 130 metres, with diesel and oil spilt over the length of the carriageway, across all three lanes, which had to be cleared and made safe before the motorway could be re-opened. 

The police helicopter attended the scene using its heat seeking capability so that a search of both the north and south bound carriageways could be conducted as well as the adjoining side areas to ensure that there were no persons or vehicle unaccounted for.   The road eventually re-opened shortly before 3.00am after it was cleared of debris and fluids and deemed safe to do so.

Two officers from the Tri-Force Specialist Operations Collision Investigation Unit based in Almondsbury attended the scene, securing and preserving evidence and examining the vehicles involved. 

A full investigation has commenced, however the investigation team would like to speak to anyone who has not yet provided their details to the police and who may have witnessed what happened, however minor they feel it may be, to contact them by calling 101 quoting Incident Number 340 of December 24 2014.  They would also like to hear from anyone who may have a car mounted camera or dash-cam fitted in their vehicle which may assist the investigating team.