M40 crash: Family of ex-soldier killed 'angry' to learn of driver's recent collision

The grieving family of a former soldier who was killed when his vehicle was hit by a car towing a caravan the wrong way up the M40 were "angry" to learn that the other driver had been involved in another accident days earlier, his father has said.

Mel Richards, whose son Stuart died when his Ford Mondeo was struck, said the elderly driver of the Subaru Forester should not have been allowed behind the wheel.

The pensioner and their passenger, both in their 80s, were also killed. They are yet to be formally identified.

“I am very philosophical about it," Mr Richards told The Guardian, adding that the other driver's family and the police should have stopped them from getting behind the wheel.

"The majority of my family are angry and emotional about how this has been allowed to happen," he said.

He added that he believed that the driver's health may have deteriorated in recent days.

“I’d like to see what the coroner has to say, I wouldn’t want to put the blame on anyone, including the other driver," he said. "I have lost a son but I had a wonderful son and I have wonderful memories of him.”

Stuart, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, died on the afternoon of 15 October as he was driving home from Gatwick airport on the northbound section of the motorway in south Oxfordshire.

The decorated army veteran who had served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan before becoming a health and safety inspector, had just finalised the sale on a house in Stockport with his girlfriend of five years Ashley Crawford on the day he was killed.

Footage, which was captured on another vehicle's dashcam moments before the fatal crash, showed other cars swerving to avoid being hit by the speeding Subaru.

West Oxfordshire councillor Colin Dingwall, who witnessed the incident, told the Oxford Mail he had “seen a lot of things in my 50 years on the road, but I've never seen a caravan coming the wrong way up the M40.”

He added: “Luckily I and the cars near me managed to pull into the middle lane and get out of the way. I had about two seconds to react.”

Thames Valley police confirmed an investigation an be launched after it emerged that the Subaru was recently involved in a 'damage-only' collision the previous week.

“On October 10 this year in High Wycombe, a report of a damage-only road traffic collision involving the Subaru Forester was made to the Force,” a spokesperson said.

Mr Richards l admitted that he feared that there maybe graphic footage of the actual crash making the rounds online.

“We have not seen any footage of the accident," he said. "But of course we are treading on eggshells waiting for video to surface that shows the actual impact.”

Mr Richards' funeral will take place in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, on 2 November.