FIREFIGHTERS used hydraulic cutting equipment to free four people from yesterday’s crash on the M40, their deputy chief has revealed today.

Oxford Mail:

Nathan Travis said he had 'nothing but praise' for his 40 firefighters who helped the injured get help following the collision at 7.45am in which one man was killed.

He said the team took nine fire engines to the crash between junction 9 and 10 at Bicester and helped take 49 injured drivers and passengers to an emergency centre in nearby Ardley.

Mr Travis said: "We cut four people out of cars. It was a combination of people who were caught in their vehicles by other vehicles and using cutting tools to get people out.

"We have cutting equipment that is able to cut through a chassis of a vehicle and other tools which spread apart areas so we can get access.

"I’ve got nothing for praise for the way they were able to respond to a very large incident and work with police and ambulance."

One man died and a number of others were seriously injured in the collision which happened just before 8am. 

Initial reports were that more than 40 vehicles had been involved in the smash on the southbound carriageway just after junction 9 at Bicester. But Thames Valley Police later said that it was 33 vehicles.

Oxford Mail:

Several people were taken to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital and the Horton Hospital in Banbury with six said to be seriously injured, one critical. 

About 50 people were taken to an emergency centre set up in nearby Ardley Village Hall where they were given tea, coffee and spoken to by police officers. 

Oxford Mail:

The road was closed for several hours while the emergency services worked to clear the cars and repair the barriers. As a result traffic was backed up for miles with diversions through Bicester and Middleton Cheney. 

Oxford Mail:

Motorist Zara Smith got stuck in traffic on the northbound carriageway at 8am just minutes after the accident happened.

Miss Smith, 31, who was driving from her home in Croydon to visit family in Stockport, said: “When we were at a standstill we couldn’t see anything, it was just thick dense fog.”

At 9.30am she said police managed to redirect some cars, including hers, off the motorway on a slip road.

She said: “When we turned to go up the slip road we could just see complete and utter carnage about a mile down the road.

“There was definitely a lorry jack-knifed across the road, it looked like a sea of metal.”

She said she counted 13 ambulances and ten fire engines.

Oxford Mail:

Davy Clarke was heading southbound. He said: "Basically, several lorries, a couple of coaches and cars. Behind screens now."

Oxford Mail:

Chief Inspector Henry Parsons of Thames Valley Police Roads Policing said: "The cause of this collision is under investigation, however, we believe that fog played a major part.

"This has been an extraordinarily large collision, we have not had a collision on this scale for many years in Thames Valley and one man has sadly lost his life.

"We are working as quickly as possible to clear the area and get the traffic moving again. I would like to thank the public for their patience while we undertake our important investigative work before a full reopening of the road is possible.

"Should anyone have concerns about friends or relatives who may have been travelling on the M40 this morning, then they can call our non-emergency number 101 for assistance."

Our top stories