A teenager and two adults have been killed in a crash on the M5 as another child fights for their life in hospital.
Avon and Somerset Police said the teenager and two adults in their 40s died following the single-vehicle collision in south Gloucestershire on Friday evening.
The second child was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after suffering serious injuries in the incident.
The white BMW car that they were travelling in left the northbound carriageway at around 9pm between junction 14 (Falfield) and the Michaelwood services.
The M5 was initially closed in both directions between junctions 14 and 13, but the southbound side was reopened late on Saturday morning followed by two lanes of the northbound carriageway in the afternoon – although the entry slip road at junction 14 remains shut.
And National Highways warned motorists that delays of up to an hour and around five miles of congestion should still be expected on approach to junction 14.
Inspector Mark Vicary, of Avon and Somerset’s roads policing unit, said on Saturday morning: “Our thoughts first and foremost are with the child in hospital and loved ones who have received the most awful news overnight.
“A specially-trained officer will provide them with support at this difficult time.”
He added: “Emergency services have worked throughout the night at what has proved to be a very complex scene. They have worked diligently and professionally to try to save life in the most tragic of circumstances.
“It has been necessary to keep the road closures in place at this time to enable further collision investigation work during daylight hours. Vehicle recovery work still needs to be completed and National Highways will need to assess the carriageway and make any necessary repairs before it will be safe to reopen the motorway.
The #M5 remains closed in both directions between J14 (#Falfield) and J13 (#Stroud) following a serious collision which occurred last night.@ASPolice investigation works are ongoing at scene.
— National Highways: South-West (@HighwaysSWEST) May 31, 2025
Delays are now starting to build on approach, please plan ahead of your journey. pic.twitter.com/vUoxESwjdD
“As a result, the M5 remains closed this morning and we estimate it will need to stay shut in both directions for the next few hours, however we are doing all we can to reopen it as soon as possible.
“We appreciate this closure is causing delays and disruption to the public, particularly at the end of the half-term break. But given the severity of this distressing incident, we hope the public can understand the reasons why this is necessary and ask them to consider alternative travel plans.”
Witnesses and anyone with dashcam footage are asked to contact police online or on 101 quoting reference number 5225151145.
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