Drivers faced nightmare rush-hour journeys after a series of crashes on West Midlands motorways and roads, which left one man dead and two fighting for their lives.

The carnage came just hours after a lorry driver lost his life when his vehicle burst into flames after crashing on the M5 near Halesowen.

A man was killed and another seriously injured after a car and bus collided at 6.40pm yesterday.

The backseat passenger of the car died and its driver, believed to be in his 20s, suffered serious head and chest injuries and lost an arm.

The driver of the National Express number 72 for Solihull and Birmingham did not need hospital treatment after the smash, which closed Newport Road in Castle Bromwich. Around five passengers were onboard at the time but unhurt.

A van overturned on the M42, trapping the driver inside with life-threatening head injuries for over an hour.

The crash happened on the northbound carriageway between junction 1 for Bromsgrove and junction 2 for Redditch, at around 3.50pm yesterday.

The van driver, believed to be in his 30s, was cut free and taken to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital with “potentially life-threatening head injuries.” ambulance spokeswoman Claire Thomas said.

The southbound carriageway of the M6 near to junction 6 for Spaghetti Junction was also closed for around an hour yesterday after fire broke out in the cab of a lorry at around 4.40pm.

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