A driver is ‘lucky to be alive’ after a lorry ploughed into it his broken down vehicle on the M62 this morning.
Miraculously the driver escaped with only minor injuries by moving inside the car across to the passenger side of the car, when the lorry struck - narrowly avoiding the most severe impact of the crash.
He then managed to get himself out of the vehicle and was assisted by other motorists who had stopped until emergency services arrived.
The crash drama happened at around 8.35am when the man’s silver Jeep broke down around half a mile from Junction 26 at Chain Bar.
The crash was in the Smart Motorway section where there is no hard shoulder.
Both West Yorkshire Police and the fire service have told how extremely lucky the driver was to escape.
Watch Commander Gary Hatton, of Cleckheaton Fire Station, said: “The vehicle had broken down and stopped on the motorway where there is no hard shoulder.
“The driver was inside and moving across to the passenger side of the vehicle to avoid getting out in the flow of traffic when the car was struck by the lorry.
“When I saw the vehicle it has to be the worst I’ve seen where someone has escaped without serious injury. I could not believe there was no one inside.
“He is lucky to be alive.
“It’s incredible.”
Mr Hatton said the vehicle was substantial and would have taken a fair amount of impact to protect the driver.
He added: “This crash should act as a warning to anyone who breaks down on the motorway to immediately get out of their vehicle and move away from the carriageway.”
The mangled wreckage shows the full extent of the crash and how extremely lucky the driver was to escape without serious injuries.
West Yorkshire Road Policing Officers tweeted from the scene: “Driver extremely lucky, only minor injuries!”
The Highways Agency also reported a third car may have been involved.
The incident caused long delays between J26 M606 / A58 (Chain Bar) and J25 A644 (Brighouse) and two lanes are expected to remain closed until mid morning.
