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CrashStats

Fatal M5 crash in Sandwell on 30 December 1997 at 16:32 involving a Volvo lorry

Nine vehicles, including a Volvo lorry and a Volkswagen Scirocco, were involved in a crash on the M5 in Sandwell at 16:32 on Tuesday 30 December 1997. The 40-year-old male driver of the Volkswagen Scirocco was killed and eight other people were slightly injured.

It happened after dark under street lighting on a wet dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
30 Dec 1997
Tuesday, 16:32
Vehicles
9
Volvo and 8 others
Casualties
9
1 killed, 8 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 52.53756, longitude -1.97047, in the B71 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in Sandwell

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
19972097K9644
Council area
Sandwell
Police force
West Midlands

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
5
Road type
Dual carriageway
Speed limit
70 mph
Urban or rural
Rural
Trunk road
Trunk road (National Highways)

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, street lights lit
Weather
Other
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 8 July 1983.

Vehicles involved (9)

  • Vehicle 1: Volvo

    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
    40 years

  • Vehicle 2: Volkswagen Scirocco

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    40 years
    Engine capacity
    1,781 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    9 years

  • Vehicle 3: Vauxhall Cavalier

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside onto central reservation
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    23 years
    Engine capacity
    1,998 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    3 years

  • Vehicle 4: Ford Mondeo

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside onto central reservation and rebounded
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    54 years
    Engine capacity
    1,753 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Diesel
    Vehicle age
    3 years

  • Vehicle 5: Honda Prelude

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    27 years
    Engine capacity
    1,958 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    6 years

  • Vehicle 6: Renault Clio

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North East
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Female
    Driver age
    27 years
    Engine capacity
    1,171 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    2 years

  • Vehicle 7: Ford Mondeo

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    29 years
    Engine capacity
    1,597 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    4 years

  • Vehicle 8: Land Rover Discovery

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    36 years
    Engine capacity
    2,495 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Diesel
    Vehicle age
    2 years

  • Vehicle 9: Ford Fiesta

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Female
    Driver age
    44 years
    Engine capacity
    957 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    11 years

Casualties (9)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Fatal

    Male, aged 40, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Volkswagen Scirocco)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 29, car occupant, in vehicle 6 (Renault Clio)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 62, car occupant, in vehicle 6 (Renault Clio)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 4: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 27, car occupant, in vehicle 5 (Honda Prelude)

  • Casualty 5: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 54, car occupant, in vehicle 4 (Ford Mondeo)

  • Casualty 6: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 46, car occupant, in vehicle 4 (Ford Mondeo)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 7: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 17, car occupant, in vehicle 4 (Ford Mondeo)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 8: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 40, goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes), in vehicle 1 (Volvo)

  • Casualty 9: Driver

    Slight

    Female, aged 27, car occupant, in vehicle 6 (Renault Clio)

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 19972097K9644 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Sandwell road accident statistics for 1997.