Van driver hospitalised after M6 crash that closed carriageway
A van driver has been hospitalised after being involved in a multi-vehicle collision which caused the closure of a section of motorway.
The collision happened around 2pm on the M6 southbound between junctions 15 for Stoke-on-Trent and 14 for Stafford and involved two vans, with three lanes initially being closed to allow emergency services teams to work.
Three people were reported as being injured, with the driver of one of the vans treated for potentially serious injuries and taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital, while another man and a woman were assessed at the scene and discharged.
The carriageway was closed just after 3pm for members of the Central Motorway Police Group to work at the scene, but later reopened with delays of between 30 and 60 minutes reported.
A spokesman for National Highways said: "At around 2.15pm, Central Motorway Police Group led a multi-agency response with West Midlands Ambulance Service and National Highways Traffic Officers to a serious collision on the M6 southbound near Stafford, with a lanes 1, 2 and 3 (of 4) being closed initially to allow the emergency services at scene to work.
"West Midlands Ambulance Service left scene 3.05pm, but police and National Highways remain.
"As the incident developed Central Motorway Police Group advised that collision investigations were required; as a result the southbound carriageway was closed at 3.05pm to provide a sterile area for the Scenes of Crime Officers to work in.
"At present, traffic caught within the closure is being released slowly past the scene by police.
"There are long delays of 60 minutes reported on the M6 southbound between J16 (near Crewe/Alsager) and J15 on approach to the closure."
A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We were called to reports of collision between two vans on the southbound M6, between junctions 15 and 14, at 2.12pm, two ambulances and a paramedic officer attended the scene.
"On arrival we discovered three patients.
"A man, the driver of one of the vans, was treated for potentially serious injuries before being taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital.
"A further man and a woman were also assessed and discharged at the scene."