Sponsored by
Student killed in horror pile-up
A YOUNG student travelling with her boyfriend through South Yorkshire was killed in a horrific pile-up involving two lorries, a van and a car.
The M18 was closed for more than six hours between Rotherham and Doncaster after the smash near the A1(M) slip road on Friday afternoon.
Police named the dead woman as Jemma O'Sullivan, aged 22, from Limerick in Ireland, a final-year pharmacy student at Sunderland University.
She was in the passenger seat of a Citroen Berlingo driven by her boyfriend Alan Godfrey, 27, also an Irish citizen.
The couple had rented the vehicle for the day to move Mr Godfrey's possessions from Reading to Newcastle, where he was due to start a new job at Newcastle University.
Mr Godfrey remains in a serious condition at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield.
A 66-year-old lorry driver, from Rotherham, received serious leg injuries and is detained at Rotherham District General Hospital.
The disaster unfolded at 3.45pm on Friday on the northbound carriageway of the M18, between junctions 1 and 2.
A red Mercedes heavy goods vehicle hit the back of the Citroen, which in turn collided with the rear of a another lorry - a white Scania R2360.
The white lorry toppled over and slid into a white Vauxhall Combo van.
The red HGV then smashed through the central reservation, coming to rest partially in the southbound carriageway.
Some reports said the Citroen was stationary at the time of the crash, but police will not confirm the circumstances of the collision until their investigations are completed.
Highways Agency officials worked for more than six hours to clear the wreckage on Friday evening - with the M18 closed in both directions until 10.30pm, causing long tailbacks.
Six people were taken to hospital in the aftermath of the crash.
Three men were treated for minor injuries - the 56-year-old driver of the white lorry, from Rotherham, his passenger, a 61-year-old from Doncaster, and the driver of the white Vauxhall Combo van, 38, from Pontefract.
Got a view? Leave a comment below.
Follow The Star on Twitter and Facebook:
For breaking news and sport follow The Star on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sheffieldstar and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sheffieldstar .
JOIN THE STAR READER PANEL: The Star is YOUR newspaper, so tell us what you think about it and what you want to see - CLICK HERE.
Don't miss our daily pull-outs - only in the The Star: Monday Star Sport, Tuesday Class Act; Wednesday Business; Thursday Grassroots; Friday Time Out; Saturday Retro. Subscribe to The Star - CLICK HERE
READ MORE
Join the Star reader panel
Main news index
Your letters
Features
South Yorkshire's environmental news
Kids Zone
More business news
More Rotherham news
More Doncaster news
More Barnsley news
Latest sport
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
