A HEROIC Royal Marine has revealed how he pulled two terrified children from the wreckage of their family’s car after it was involved in yesterday’s horrific crash on the M5 which left four people dead.
Alex Morgan, 27, was travelling to Coventry with his girlfriend Hayley O’Connor for a wedding when the tragic motorway accident unfolded in front of them.
Mr Morgan was texting in the passenger seat when Miss O’Connor suddenly stopped.
He described seeing “body parts scattered everywhere” as he rushed to help the two children, who were hanging upside down inside the vehicle which was lying on its roof halfway down a bank.
Mr Morgan said: "For work you get a bit of experience and training in first aid, but this was by far the worst road traffic collision that I have seen in this country.
"It was harrowing. I've seen some dark things during my time, but you never expect to see something like this in the UK.
"That's what was so shocking - that it came from nowhere, and that it was so close to home."
Four people were killed and a woman and two children are in a serious condition in hospital after a lorry smashed through the central reservation on the M5 on Saturday afternoon.
The lorry collided with oncoming traffic heading southbound towards Bristol after it careered across the northbound carriageway between junctions 16 and 14 in south Gloucestershire on Saturday.
All three lanes of the motorway's southbound carriage are now open, while the northbound carriageway is expected to remain closed until Monday morning.
Mr Morgan, who works as a marine in Plymouth, continued: “I looked up and saw the lorry but couldn't initially see the car because we were in the middle lane with a caravan and a few cars
“I exited the vehicle and headed towards the site as quickly as possible to see how I could help.
“On looking at the site the lorry was nose down in a ditch on our side of the carriageway and the family car was on its roof half way down the bank.
“There were a few others who had already identified a fire in the front of the vehicle which was badly crumpled, and a couple of people were already fetching fire extinguishers from caravans, so I happened to be the first one to the door of the vehicle.
“On approaching the vehicle I could already hear two children screaming and when looking inside they were both in the back suspended upside down from their seat belts.
“They were both fully conscious with no initial signs of serious bleeding or injury, so I unclipped the little girls seatbelt and carried her out as others worked to extinguish the front of the vehicle.”
By this time others had arrived at the scene to try to help those caught up in the fatal accident.
Alex said: “We took them up the bank and along the bank away from the vehicle so they could receive first aid from paramedics who arrived extremely quickly on scene.
“At this point myself and a handful of others were attempting to get a response from the woman who was in the front of the vehicle.
“I could see just from looking through that the adult male was sadly already dead due to the damage to his side of the vehicle, however another man checked his pulse from the rear of the cab and I attempted to feel one myself from the front, to no avail.
“We then focused on trying to get a response from the woman to see if we could identify any trauma to her neck or back.
“Due to the recurring flare ups in the front of the vehicle and the fact she was bleeding from her nose and head we decided to unclip her and move her out, under the direction of a Doctor who had thankfully come to aid from his vehicle.”
Alex continued: “Sadly there was nothing anyone could do for the man and the car was covered soon after to prevent distress from onlookers.
“On returning up the bank a small handful of us began looking in the area in front of the lorry to help identify others who may have been in the third vehicle that was struck, presumably heading northbound as well.
“The lorry driver was still trapped by his legs at this point and I personally didn't see much of the lorry as I just happened to be the first one to the family's car and others had responded to the lorry.”
Mr Morgan praised the reactions of the emergency services and the public and wished those caught up in the accident a speedy recovery.
“By the time emergency services had arrived there were already many people working tirelessly to assist with the family and do anything they could to help. In such a horrendous incident it was good to see people coming together to do whatever they could.”
“Everyone was fantastic and the emergency services response was very quick indeed. I just hope that the mother and children pull through and at least something can be salvaged from the incident.”
Superintendent Simon Ellis said: "Emergency service personnel have been working tirelessly at the scene in harrowing conditions and I'd like to praise them for the work they've done and are still doing.
"I'd also like to thank the members of the public who courageously went to the aid of those involved in this collision and in some cases rescued them from their vehicles.
"Our priority is to ensure the victims' next of kin are notified and supported, as well as the ongoing management of the scene, and this important work is ongoing."
He added: "We know this has been extremely disruptive to many people but we've had to prioritise the rescue and recovery operation and ensure we carry out a thorough investigation at the scene.
"This is painstaking work."