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CrashStats

Fatal M6 crash in Wyre on 4 February 1980 at 16:20 involving a car

A car and a lorry were involved in a crash on the M6 in Wyre at 16:20 on Monday 4 February 1980. A 43-year-old male passenger in the car was killed, a 45-year-old male passenger in the car was seriously injured and a 50-year-old male passenger in the car was slightly injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in snow on a dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
4 Feb 1980
Monday, 16:20
Vehicles
2
Car and lorry
Casualties
3
1 killed, 1 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 53.9147, longitude -2.75509, in the PR3 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in Wyre

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
1980040BF0160
Council area
Wyre
Police force
Lancashire

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
6
Road type
Dual carriageway
Speed limit
70 mph

Junction information

Junction type
Not at junction or within 20 metres

Pedestrian crossing information

Crossing facilities
No physical crossing facility within 50 m

Environmental conditions

Light conditions
Dark, no street lighting
Weather
Snowing, no high winds
Road surface
Snow

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 42 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 24 December 2025.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Nearside or offside crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Nearside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    48 years

  • Vehicle 2: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    32 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Fatal

    Male, aged 43, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 45, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 50, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

Data source

This record comes from the Department for Transport’s road safety data (STATS19), in which police forces in Great Britain record every road crash reported to them where someone was injured. It is reference 1980040BF0160 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Wyre road accident statistics for 1980.