A high-speed crash that killed two men may have been caused by a car travelling the wrong way along the M1 in Leicestershire, police have said.
The 87-year-old driver of a blue Mazda Premacy and the 27-year-old passenger of a white Ford Transit van were pronounced dead at the scene after their vehicles collided close to junction 24 of the motorway in the early hours of Monday.
The southbound carriageway and one lane of the northbound one were closed between junctions 24 and 25 and were expected to remain shut for most of the morning following the collision, which happened at 2.20am.
Diversions were in place and motorists were being advised to avoid the area.
Leicestershire police said they had received reports of a car travelling the wrong way down the southbound carriageway of the M1 before the crash.
The East Midlands ambulance service dispatched three ambulances and a specialist hazardous area response team after receiving a call at 2.18am. Two men were pronounced dead at the scene while a third was taken to Nottingham Queen’s medical centre with leg injuries.
“Reports from the scene indicated that a vehicle travelling the wrong way down the M1 had collided head-on with a van, leaving debris strewn over the road,” a spokesperson said.
