Army veteran pulled lorry driver from M6 wreckage

An army veteran has described the moment he pulled a lorry driver from his overturned cab after a crash on the M6.

Gareth Evans was one of a handful of people who went to help when an articulated lorry overturned and hit the central reservation shortly before 17:00 on Sunday in Warwickshire.

The ex-serviceman said his training kicked in as the scene unfolded before him shortly after he stopped for a coffee on the way home to Colchester.

"As I was merging from the Rugby services, I literally just saw the lorry tipping over and then a massive dust cloud," he said.

He put his hazard lights on and ran to the lorry, where another motorist was kicking the windscreen in to reach the driver.

"So I joined in - I started tearing the glass away with my hands."

The 42-year-old said he then climbed into the cab and checked the driver over, before undoing his seatbelt and pulling him carefully out through the front windscreen.

"I put all his weight onto my shoulder and tried to keep his neck as comfortable as possible and as straight as possible," he said, adding the man was slipping in and out of consiousness.

It was at that point he realised a crowd of people had gathered to help after traffic had been halted between junction one near Rugby and the Catthorpe interchange in Leicestershire.

"There was a good 10 people waiting for him and everybody just grabbed him and lifted him up," he said.

"There was an off-duty doctor - she introduced herself and she took control."

With the injured man receiving medical attention, Evans said it was only then he noticed he was covered in diesel as it had been leaking from the lorry.

He had been travelling from Herefordshire, where he is from and still owns properties. He called his wife to tell her what had happened as he continued his journey to their home in Essex.

Emergency services including the air ambulance attended the scene, with police having to manage traffic for several hours.

The southbound carriageway was closed until the next morning following repairs to the central reservation.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said the driver was treated for potentially serious injuries before being taken to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.

Evans, who now works as a mental health advocate and a hypnotherapist, said his military background meant he was able to take control of the situation.

"I was in the army for 20 years - 15 years in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - where I went to Afghanistan and Iraq and pretty much all over the Middle East."

One of his roles was teaching new recruits the basics needed to be a soldier, including first aid.

"I'm quite knowledgeable about how to navigate through a crisis," he said.

"People wanted to help, they just needed directions of how to help and I was able to do that."