Three people have died and another is fighting for his life in hospital after a ‘truly tragic’ day on the roads around Bristol.
Four separate crashes saw three fatalities in just over six hours, with a further M4 crash happening after that.
Reasons for the spate of crashes is unknown with no increased demand or extra volume of traffic thought to have been on the roads today (September 24), according to police.
The first M4 crash took place at 1.30am on the eastbound carriageway of the M4, just after Junction 18, for Bath.
Two men were travelling in a car which overturned. One was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other suffered what police have described as 'life-threatening' head injuries.
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A second crash happened less than two hours later, at 3.25am, on the westbound side of the same stretch of road, but closer to Junction 17 for Chippenham.
The multi-vehicle car was between two articulated lorries, a car, and a van.
This proved a huge challenge for the emergency services - one of the vehicles was carrying propane gas canisters which were leaking, and firefighters were called to make the vehicle safe. They also had to cut free one of the occupants of one of the vehicles.
Four people were injured in this crash: one died at the scene from their injuries, while two were taken to Southmead Hospital, and the other was treated and discharged at the scene.
Supt Phil Staynings, of Wiltshire Police, said of these two crashes: "We had to respond to two truly tragic incidents this morning and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims.
“This is a complex incident that put huge pressure on all of the emergency services this morning and will continue to take a considerable amount of time to investigate thoroughly.”
Another fatal car crash happened just a few miles away from the M4, in Severn Beach.
In an unclassified road which connects the A403 Severn Road, Severn Beach to Palmer Avenue, Severn Beach, a car and a heavy goods vehicle collided.
The collision saw the driver of the car, a 19-year-old man, pronounced dead at the scene.
A third M4 crash in a small stretch of motorway happened at 11am, less than then 10 hours after the first crash.
The crash involved the drivers of a Renault van and a Mercedes Sprinter van, with one of the vehicles hitting the central reservation.
A man was injured and the ambulance service treated him for non-life threatening head injuries.
