Appeal after fatal M6 collision

A man has sadly died following a collision on the M6 and police are now asking for help piecing together exactly what occurred. 

It is thought the collision happened at around 3.10am yesterday (Sunday, September 4) at the Junction 31 slip road at Samlesbury, when a Ford Fiesta left the carriageway and collided with a lamppost.

Emergency services were called when the vehicle was located around an hour later.

The driver of the Fiesta – a 19-year-old man from Preston – was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin are being supported by specially-trained officers.

It is not thought any other vehicles were involved in the collision.

The southbound side of the carriageway was closed for around 10 hours while collision investigators attended and the road was made safe again.

Police are now asking for help piecing together exactly what occurred and would like to hear from anybody who saw the collision, saw the Fiesta in the area before the collision, or who was driving on that section of the M6 at around the same time and may have dashcam.

Sgt Helen Parkinson, of the Lancashire Police TacOps team, said: “First and foremost our thoughts are with the man’s family and friends.

“We know they want answers as to what happened and an investigation is now underway to establish all the facts.

“We know the motorway will have been quiet at the time of the morning but somebody may have seen something that could help us. Perhaps you are an HGV driver who was in the area or maybe you saw the Fiesta in the moments before it crashed. There may also be people with dashcam who have captured something significant but haven’t checked it yet to realise. If you were in the area and have a camera in your car, please let us know so we can view it.”

Anybody with information is asked to get in touch on 101, quoting log 287 of September 4.