Driver has head sliced open by flying debris on M56

ITV News

2 days ago

Cheshire Police is investigating after a man driving to work along the M56 had his head sliced open by a piece of flying debris.
Welder Jake Gray was travelling from his home on Teesside to work in Warrington when an object smashed through his windscreen and cut down the side of his head.
Police haven't identified what the object was but Jake, who is 31 and from Thornaby, says that he could have easily been killed: "I was about 10 minutes away from my side and in the third lane of the carriageway.
"Something must have come across over the barrier as there was nothing directly in front of me. It's sliced straight through the windscreen, glass shattered in my face and it's gone out the rear window.
"I don't know how but managed to pull over safely and that's when I called 999. It all happened in the blink of an eye. I screamed in panic. I noticed when I looked in the mirror that I had a big gash in the side of my face, past above my ear."
Jake says the incident happened at around 6.15 am, adding that he waited at the side of the road holding his jumper to the side of his head to apply pressure waiting for emergency services to arrive.
He said: "It must have hit a main vein right above my ear. I was jut trying to apply pressure. It could have been a different story. I could easily have been decapitated.
"When the first police officer got here, he had a first aid kit and we were just trying to stop the bleeding - it was just relentless.
"I think it's got to me some sort of metal material to do that damage. It's a clean slice through the window. The rear head rest was ripped out but there's no other debris in my car."
Jake was taken to hospital and needed multiple stitches to the gash on his head and a CT scan revealed a fracture to his skull and a possible air pocket.
Having stayed the night under observation, he was able to travel back home to Teesside with his mum the following day.
Jake, whose VW Golf is in the garage, is now appealing for any witnesses to come forward and has asked anyone who may have dashcam footage from the M56 on Thursday morning (May 29) to come forward.
After posting on Facebook about the incident, Jake says a number of people have reached out about possible sources of the object. He's also received dash-cam footage of a wagon pulled over on the opposite carriageway where the driver appears to be securing the load around the time of the incident.
He says two vehicles - a white van and a black Mercedes - appear to be parked up in the hard shoulder in front of a red wagon. Jake is appealing for the drivers to come forward.
Jake states:"I don't want any sympathy I just want to stop this happening again.
"I want to get to the bottom of it to prevent this from happening to someone else," said Jake, who says he "can't thank the brilliant hospital staff enough."
He says it's unclear as to whether the debris has come from the central reservation although it's more likely that it's come off another vehicle travelling down the opposite carriageway: "I don't want any sympathy, I just want to get to the bottom of it and make people aware so steps can be taken to prevent this from happening again."
He's urging wagon drivers to ensure their load is secure and calls for the central reservation to be cleaned.
"We pay our taxes for the carriageways to be kept in good order and we need to make sure they're kept clear."
A spokesperson for Cheshire Police said: "At around 6.15am on Thursday 29 May, police received reports of a road traffic incident on the M56 between junction 10 and 11. The caller reported an unknown object had hit his vehicle, smashing the windscreen and causing an injury to his head.
"He was taken to hospital and later discharged. Enquiries are currently ongoing."
A spokesman National Highways said: 'Our thoughts are with Mr Gray after this incident. While it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of this specific incident due the police investigation, National Highways has rigorous motorways inspection, reactive and routine maintenance regimes to tackle defects and remove debris.
"In urgent cases we can and do close lanes or a carriageway to remove debris including after collisions or in cases where items have fallen from vehicles. The next planned 'sweep' of this section of the M56 is at the end of the month.
Anyone spotting hazardous debris can report it to us, when they can do so safely, by calling our 24-7 customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.'