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CrashStats

Fatal M5 crash in Mid Devon on 31 May 1987 at 20:05 involving a lorry

A lorry and a car were involved in a crash on the M5 in Mid Devon at 20:05 on Sunday 31 May 1987. A 62-year-old male passenger in the car was killed and four other people were seriously injured.

It happened in daylight in fine weather on a dry dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
31 May 1987
Sunday, 20:05
Vehicles
2
Lorry and car
Casualties
5
1 killed, 4 seriously injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.90848, longitude -3.36536, in the EX15 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in Mid Devon

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
198750D420765
Council area
Mid Devon
Police force
Devon and Cornwall

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
5
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
Daylight
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 22 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 2 August 2022.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

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

  • Vehicle 2: Car

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

Casualties (5)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Fatal

    Male, aged 62, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 36, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 15, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 4: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 39, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

  • Casualty 5: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 33, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front 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 198750D420765 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Mid Devon road accident statistics for 1987.