Driver injured after smash closes lanes of M6
A driver was injured today in a rush hour crash on the M6 involving a coach, a van and a car which led to traffic chaos.
Three lanes of the M6 were closed near junction 10 for Walsall on the southbound side of the motorway after the accident at about 8.15am.
The driver of the van had to be treated for neck and back injuries. Nobody on the coach was injured.
West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman, Claire Brown, said: "We were called to the scene at 8.15am this morning.
"Paramedics have been dealing with a patient but it does not look serious. They are carrying out checks as a precaution.
"Two ambulances and a paramedic are still on the scene."
Motorists faced rush-hour delays of up to an hour as police and firefighters worked to clear the road.
Drivers were forced to use the inside lane while 41 passengers on the coach waited to be picked up by another vehicle.
It had a knock-on effect on roads leading up to junction 10 of the motorway with a build up of traffic.
There were queues on the A454 Wolverhampton Road which leads from Walsall town centre towards the M6.
There was also traffic along the Black Country Route and queues built up around junction 11 for Cannock where the speed limit is reduced to 50mph.
Highways Agency spokesman Pragati Baddhan, said tailbacks stretched for five miles but that the road was expected to be opened by 10am.
She said: "We are looking at delays of over half an hour and the emergency services are still at the scene. The coach passengers are having to wait for another coach to come and pick them up. The cars are having to filter up one lane while the other three are closed."
It is the second crash on the M6 in two days and comes after a man died when his car was involved in a crash with a lorry near junction 10.
The smash involved an Asda lorry and a Ford Focus and prompted the lengthy closure of the southbound carriageway between junction 10a for the M54 and junction 9 while collision investigators searched the area on Sunday.
Officers are now studying CCTV and have spoken to several witnesses in a bid to piece together the chain of events leading up to the crash.
Meanwhile, police were called to a crash on the A5 near Brownhills also involving three vehicles.
It happened at 7.50am when a Mercedes Sprinter van collided with a Renault Megane and an HGV at the junction of Norton Lane.
Nobody was injured in the crash.
