A three-year-old girl and an elderly man have died after a car reportedly flipped over and burst into flames in a horror smash on the M6.
Emergency services rushed to the southbound carriageway between junction 29 for Preston and junction 28 for Leyland at around 5.50pm yesterday.
The crash forced the motorway to shut in both directions for several hours. Closures remained in place this morning.
Lancashire Constabulary has now confirmed a child and 79-year-old man died in the incident.
It is believed that a Porsche Boxster car driven by the man collided with a Vauxhall Meriva car in which the young girl was travelling.
The car flipped onto its side before bursting into flames, according to Lancs Live reports.
Two lanes of the southbound carriageway remain blocked on November 20 for emergency surface repairs.
Two adults in the Vauxhall Meriva suffered serious injuries and were taken to the Royal Preston Hospital for treatment. Police are now appealing for witnesses to the fatal collision.
Sgt Craig Booth, Serious Collision Investigator with Lancashire Police’s Tactical Operations Unit, said: “These are very sad and tragic circumstances.
“This was a traumatic scene for all witnesses and emergency services involved, I would like to pass on my thanks for their dedication in dealing with an incident which can only be described as horrific.
“We want to hear from any witnesses to the collision or those who have dashcam footage from the area around the time it happened.”
Anyone with information or who has footage was asked to contact 101 – quoting log 1102 of November 19, 2022
A statement from National Highways said last night: "The M6 in Lancashire is closed southbound between J29 (Preston) and J28 (Leyland) due to a serious collision involving a car which has come to rest on its side and caught fire. There is also lanes 2 and 3 closed on the northbound carriageway within J28.
"All emergency services including Lancashire Police are in attendance. National Highways Traffic Officers are also providing assistance with traffic management on scene.
"All traffic within the closure has now been released.
"The closure is expected to remain in place for several hours for police investigation and clear-up work."
