Ashes of man killed on M1 near Meadowhall to be sent into space as widow continues smart motorways campaign

Jason Mercer, aged 44, died after being hit by a lorry on the M1 in 2019 in a collision which also claimed the life of 22-year-old Alexandru Murgeanu, 22. Both men had been stranded in their vehicles which they had stopped on a stretch of so-called smart motorway, without hard shoulders, following a ‘minor shunt’.

The lorry driver was sentenced for causing their deaths by dangerous driving but Jason’s widow Claire Mercer said at the time that the ‘wrong person’ had been jailed and the people responsible for introducing smart motorways needed to be held accountable. Claire has since dedicated her life to campaigning for smart motorways to be scrapped, in an attempt to prevent more lives being lost. She is still pursuing a judicial review and says she will not give up the fight until all-lanes-running motorways are axed for good.

Jason Mercer’s widow says he would have loved the idea of going into space

Nearly four years after Jason’s death, Claire has revealed how his ashes are due to be launched into space in a celebration of the keen astronomer’s life. She told how Jason had ‘left his home for the last time’ on Thursday, March 2, which would have been his 48th birthday, when she took his ashes to the Sheffield firm Aura Flights, whose parent company is Sent into Space. In a few weeks’ time, she said, he will ‘rest with the stars’.

Claire told The Star how Jason had been an avid stargazer and would have loved the idea of going into space. “I always knew I didn’t want to keep his ashes here, I just didn’t know where I wanted to scatter them, but this seemed perfect,” she said. “I said I would do it when we won the campaign but unfortunately the campaign is taking a lot longer than we expected.” Claire also revealed how one of the keen musician’s beloved guitars had gone on display at the Rotherham bar Piston Twisted.

Tributes poured into Jason following his death, with those who knew him describing him as a ‘lovely’, ‘funny’ and ‘kind’ man. Claire said he was a very outgoing person on the outside, who could be ‘noisy, fun and silly’, but that he had his insecurities. Rather than having a funeral, a festival was held to celebrate Jason’s life, with proceeds being donated to the mental health group Men Actually Talking Together.

‘Now most people know what a smart motorway is, they hate them’

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion last month called on the Government to axe smart motorways. Her campaign has the backing of South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings, who has branded smart motorways ‘inherently dangerous’.

Claire said: “The very first action I took after Jason’s death was to seek a judicial review. It’s been three and a half years now and I’m still waiting for a High Court date. Sometimes it seems we will win this campaign in the court of public opinion before we win it in an actual court. Now most people know what a smart motorway is, they hate them. I’m not going to stop campaigning until we win.”