Two teenagers have died after a car plunged from a bridge and crashed into a minibus on the M1, which was forced shut overnight.
The teens were travelling in a blue car along Gilmorton Lane, towards Lutterworth, Leicestershire, when it fell off the bridge above the M1 and collided with a white Fiat Ducato travelling southbound.
Emergency services scrambled to the motorway at 1.33pm but the two teenagers were declared dead at the scene.
Four people who were travelling in the white minibus were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The male driver was discharged, while three women remain in hospital.
The M1 has been shut since the accident and is ‘likely to remain closed for a number of hours’, police said.
It means families travelling during the busy Friday afternoon rush and the school Easter holidays have been stuck on the motorway for more than 10 hours, as the road remains closed.
Many were left in tears after being trapped on the M1 for the entirety of Friday afternoon, with the motorway near to the East Midlands Airport close by also shut due to oil and fuel spillages.
Distressed families with children shared their frustration on social media, saying they had ‘no communication’ from emergency services.
One mother-of-two, Grace Victory, posted to Instagram: ‘Latest update is 10pm to get us moving.
‘I’ve now cried because I just don’t know what to do. Two kids. No water left. No snacks left. It’s their bedtime so they are absolutely losing it.
‘No communication from police or the highways agency. People are having to now walk up and get answers. There’s babies here. There’s other kids here. I just cannot believe it.’
She later added: ‘We are cold. We are tired. We are getting no communication from emergency services.’
Leicestershire Police said: ‘Fire and Rescue Services and the East Midlands Ambulance Service attended the scene.
‘The road is likely to remain closed for a number of hours yet while forensic work continues to be carried out.
‘Leicestershire Police would like to hear from anyone who was driving on Gilmorton Lane or on the M1 in the area of junction 20 – in both directions – at around 1.30pm on Friday afternoon.
‘Please contact us on 101, quoting incident number 308 of 10th April or visit https://leicspolice.link/7LXmr.’
The National Highways said: ‘Due to an earlier collision involving a car and a van the M1 was closed in both directions at 13:35 to provide a safe and sterile working environment for Leicestershire Police, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, East Midlands Ambulance Service and the Air Ambulance Service at the scene.
‘Accident investigation is now underway, and it is expected that this will be a protracted closure.
‘National Highways Traffic Officers are dealing with traffic management.’
Drivers are being urged to avoid the area, as traffic is being caught within the closures currently being turned around and directed via the previous slip exit.
