Overview
- Avon and Somerset Police said an 18-year-old exited an ambulance on the M5 between junctions 21 and 20 around 11.04pm and was fatally struck by a southbound car despite an on-duty officer’s attempt to move him to safety.
- A mandatory referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the force’s Professional Standards Department has begun an independent investigation, with family liaison and staff welfare support in place.
- The M5 was shut in both directions overnight between Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare for emergency response and enquiries, with National Highways diversions in place before the route reopened this morning.
- Fire crews from multiple stations extinguished a blaze involving a tractor unit carrying about 14 tonnes of hay on the motorway hard shoulder during the wider response, using high‑pressure hose reels and jets.
- Separate collisions added disruption nationwide, including an M6 northbound closure between J21 and J21A near Warrington where firefighters extricated one person, and a fatal single‑vehicle crash on the M4 near Leigh Delamere earlier on Sunday.