Police Appealing For Witnesses

Police are appealing for witnesses following a car crash on the westbound carriageway of the M4 in which three people were killed and two were seriously injured.

Both carriageways of the motorway were closed through parts of last night following the incident, which occurred between junctions 32 and 33 on the route. A man in his 50s and a man and woman in their 20s were the victims.

In addition, a woman in her 50s and a baby were hospitalised with injuries sustained during the single-vehicle collision involving a Peugeot 406.

Stephen Nye, who specialises in working with victims of road collisions for Irwin Mitchell, said: “Naturally the police will be investigating the circumstances of the accident in some detail  to try and establish how this terrible tragedy happened. It is likely that those investigations will take place over many weeks, if not months.

“Any information that they can gather could be vitally important in discovering the root cause of the incident and what factors may have played a part. Depending on the outcome of those investigations, charges may be brought against any party thought to be responsible.

“Whilst it is important to look at the cause of the accident and to take appropriate action against any responsible party, it must not be forgotten that there are many innocent victims whose lives have devastated by these events.

“As we have seen in many of our cases, car crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries have a long-term physical and emotional impact on both victims and their loved ones, so it is vital that lessons are learnt which could help prevent similar incidents happening in the future.”