Woman dies after A40 pile-ups involving up to 20 cars

A woman has died and a number of other others are battle-scarred in four separate crashes involving quite twenty cars on the A40 in Oxfordshire.

South Central automobile Service aforesaid the crashes happened inside a mile-and-a-half-stretch between the B4047 and therefore the A415 at Witney.

A person is being treated in hospital for serious injuries.

Up to fifteen individuals have additionally been treated at the scene.



Thames depression Police confirmed the collision via its TVP Roads Policing account.

It said: "The A40, Witney is closed following a multi-vehicle collision. Emergency services area unit on scene and drivers area unit suggested avoiding the realm."

From-the-scene: BBC Oxford newsperson Rail ruler
It is a chilly and foggy scene here on the A40 heading towards Witney.

Walls of thick fog area unit utterly obstruction the read of the fields to the correct and left of the A40.
On the road, cars disappear from reading a number of hundred meters away.

As I approached the Ducklington put off, the blue police lights go across the fog. The road is closed and traffic is being directed towards the near station.

HGV driver mountain Starkey, United Nations agency was at the scene however not concerned within the crashes, aforesaid the road conditions were foggy and also the road was icy at the time of the collisions at concerning 08:30 GMT.

"[The crashes] happened before Pine Tree State and so behind, lucky enough I managed to prevent my HGV," he said.

"I saw the emergency services playing emergency procedure on a girl. The one that was along with her within the automotive was walking around language 'I cannot believe this'.

"There was additionally another girl ahead of Pine Tree State United Nations agency was severely injured when a car collided along with her once she stepped outside her vehicle."

Mr. Starkey praised the emergency services, United Nations agency the aforesaid had done Associate in Nursing "excellent job" having found the scene in concerning twenty minutes.

"The police approached each automotive to examine on individuals," he added.



Another watcher, United Nations agency didn't need to be named, delineate "carnage" as she approached on the road from Carterton.

"I saw cars going zooming past American state and making an attempt to swerve out the manner of the stationary cars, however blinking into them," she said.

"I saw one automotive attempt to swerve between a mini and another automotive and find yourself blinking into the mini and (flying) up within the air.

'Dangerous fog'
Mother-of-two Ami Gaston, from Carterton, was within the automotive together with her partner once she saw the primary vehicle crash concerning [*fr1] a mile from the Witney exit, obstruction the correct lane.

"A man on his own had skidded and crashed into middle barrier," she said.

"My partner was driving - we tend to had to swerve out of the correct lane to avoid hit him."

She same significant fog meant the case was "really dangerous", because it was tough to check the other automotive till you were "on prime of it".



The road remains closed each directions, however officers area unit operating to re-open the westward roadway, Thames vale Police aforesaid.

The eastward roadway can stay closed whereas investigations at the location of the collisions area unit administrated, the force value-added.

All vehicles that weren't concerned within the collision have currently been discharged from the location.

Six vehicles suffered important injury, the car service aforesaid.

Fire and rescue crews were additionally referred to as to the scene.