Automotive

Man and woman arrested after girl, 12, dies in hit-and-run on M61

A man and a woman have been arrested over the hit-and-run death of a 12-year-old girl on a motorway.

The victim, named by police as Sana Patel, of Blackburn, died at the scene on the M61 in Lancashire.

She was a passenger in a Nissan Qashqai, which was involved in a collision with a Vauxhall Corsa on Saturday at around 10.45pm.

A 23-year-old woman, from Mirefield, Yorkshire, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, Lancashire Police said on Sunday.

A 28-year-old man from Dewsbury was later arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and of failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

Both remain in custody.

The crash happened on the northbound carriageway between junction eight and Bolton West/Rivington services.

The force said five other people in the Qashqai suffered minor injuries, while those in the Corsa fled the scene on foot.

Detective Superintendent Andy Cribbin said: “This was a tragic incident in which 12-year-old Sana Patel lost her life and our thoughts are very much with her family and friends at his unimaginably difficult time.

“There are no words to describe what they will be going through and we send them our deepest condolences.

“We have now made two arrests but are very much still trying to establish what happened and are asking anybody who saw the collision or either vehicle in the moments before it happened to get in touch as soon as possible.

“We would also like to speak to anyone who was in the Corsa at the time and would urge them to make contact with us.”

The M61 was closed in both directions between junctions six and eight while collision investigators attended the scene.

It reopened on Sunday at around 9am.

Joe Mellor

Head of Content

Published by