PICTURED: Drivers 'lucky to be alive' after a car transporter smashes into lorry
Two drivers are 'extremely lucky to be alive' after a car transporter smashed into a lorry, crashed through a motorway barrier, and then travelled 40ft down an embankment.
After his lorry broke down on the northbound carriageway of the M6, on the link road to the M5 southbound, the driver's decision to get out of the vehicle and move to safety quite possibly saved his life after the car transporter crashed into it shortly after 10.30am this morning.
The crash caused extensive damage to the lorry, while the car transporter left the road, smashed through a motorway barrier and travelled approximately 40ft down an embankment, finally coming to rest in a wooded area.
West Midlands Ambulance Service sent an ambulance and a paramedic officer to the scene.
Jamie Arrowsmith, a West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman, said: "Both men are extremely lucky to be alive.
"The stationary lorry has suffered significant damage in the collision, having the side and roof completely ripped off. The driver's decision to move away from his vehicle has undoubtedly saved him from significant injuries, if not saved his life.
"A man in his 40s and a man in his 50s, the latter of whom was driving the car transporter, amazingly both escaped with very minor injuries in the incident which had the potential to be so much worse.
"We would urge all motorists to follow the lorry driver's lead and move well clear of your vehicle should you break down, moving behind any roadside barriers if there are any in the vicinity."
