Police appeal for witnesses after man dies in M58 smash near Wigan

The victim has yet to be identified but is believed to be in his 40s.

Officers are now appealing for witnesses to the collision on the westbound carriageway of the M58 near to junction four at Skelmersdale shortly before 1pm on Friday May 16.

Lancashire Constabulary say that a collision involving two articulated large goods vehicles and two cars took place and that, very sadly, the driver of one of the cars was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sgt Matt Davidson, lead investigation officer with the force’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “First and foremost, my thoughts are with the driver’s family and loved ones at this distressing time."

“This was a difficult and challenging scene for the emergency services who attended, and the carriageway was closed for a substantial time while we investigated the collision and repairs were made to the road.

“I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision or has dashcam footage from either side of the motorway between 12:40pm and 1pm to please contact police on 101, or email [email protected] quoting log 0620 of 17th May 2024."

The crash caused the motorway to be completely closed between junctions 4 and (6 at Orrell) for several hours and it was only some 20 hours later, just before 9am today that the westbound carriageway could be used by traffic again.

There was a lot of congestion on the M6 and main roads around Wigan yesterday as a consequence of the closure.