A young man was tragically killed after a crash on the M6 in the early hours.
The smash happened after a Ford Fiesta left the carriageway and collided with a lamppost at around 3.10am yesterday (Sunday). Emergency services were scrambled to the scene when the car was found around an hour later.
Tragically, the driver - a 19-year-old from Preston - was pronounced dead at the scene, Lancashire Police said in a statement. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
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The southbound carriageway was closed off for around 10 hours after the incident. Accident investigation work was carried out at the scene and the road was made safe again.
Officers are now trying to piece together what happened. It is not believed that any other vehicles were involved in the crash, which happened at the southbound slip road at junction 31 of the M6 at Samlesbury.
Any witnesses, or anyone who has dash-cam footage, is being urged to get in touch with police. Sgt Helen Parkinson, of the Lancashire Police TacOps team, said: “First and foremost our thoughts are with the man’s family and friends.
"We know they want answers as to what happened and an investigation is now underway to establish all the facts. We know the motorway will have been quiet at the time of the morning but somebody may have seen something that could help us.
"Perhaps you are an HGV driver who was in the area or maybe you saw the Fiesta in the moments before it crashed. There may also be people with dashcam who have captured something significant but haven’t checked it yet to realise.
"If you were in the area and have a camera in your car, please let us know so we can view it."
Anybody with information is asked to get in touch on 101, quoting log 287 of September 4. Dashcam footage can be uploaded here.
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