Overview

• Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed a man in his 30s from Plymouth died at the scene of a four‑vehicle collision near J28 on Thursday night.
• Officers arrested a man in his 40s from the Cullompton area on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, and he remains in custody.
• Two serious collisions occurred within two miles on the southbound carriageway, with further secondary incidents developing in the resulting queues.
• An air ambulance attended and contractors cut the central reservation to release motorists trapped for hours, before recovery and forensic work cleared the scene.
• The motorway between J27 (Tiverton) and J28 (Cullompton) has now reopened in both directions, and several injured people were treated in hospital without life‑threatening conditions reported.