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Toxic spill crash on M6 causes two deaths
Page 19
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RUSH-HOUR TRAFFIC was brought to a standstill last Friday (10 September) after a truck crash left two dead and thousands of litres of toxic chemicals spilt across the M6.
The accident occurred at 12.30pm when an attic ploughed into stationary traffic near J11 southbound.
A car was smashed into the back of a tanker trailer belonging to Widnes firm Redway European, rupturing the tank and releasing 1,800 litres of phosphoric acid.
Up to 50 firelighters and special ist chemical units were called to the scene and the southbound carriageway was closed until almost a mile of road could be resurfaced.
Two passengers in the car died in the accident: a man was taken to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham by air ambulance.
The driver of the Redway European truck escaped uninjured. Redway MD Chris Carr says: "The driver told me that the force of the impact was so hard he would have been thrown through the windscreen if he hadn't been wearing his seat belt."