Hunt for man who fled scene of M4 car crash in which one person died and another was seriously injured

Major manhunt for driver who fled the scene, whose stolen BMW was being chased by police

A man has died and a woman is fighting for her life following a car crash on the M4 on Monday night (1 June).

Emergency services were called to Junction 4 near Heathrow at around 11.35pm to a collision between a white VW Golf and a black BMW 320i. A 63-year-old man died at the scene, despite the best efforts of paramedics.

Two others were rushed to a major trauma centre: a woman, 62, described as having ‘life-threatening’ injuries, and a 29-year-old man said not to have life-threatening injuries.

The BMW driver fled the scene on foot and police are searching for him. The BMW is understood to have been stolen and was being pursued by Thames Valley Police before the crash.

Detective Inspector John Millward, who leads the Metropolitan Police serious collision investigation unit, said:

“Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the people involved.

“Our specialist detectives are now working at pace to identify the establish the exact circumstances of the incident and locate the driver of the second car.

“He is described as an Asian man of heavy build, wearing dark clothing and carrying a black rucksack.

“We urge anyone with information to urgently contact the police – particularly anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage.”

Traffic congestion

The crash caused major traffic congestion. One Chiswick resident wrote on social media:

‘I got trapped in traffic on the M4 after 7am for three and a half hours. Unbeknown to me, and hundreds of others, the motorway westbound had been closed since midnight seven hours earlier.

‘Yet the Highways Agency hadn’t prevented anyone joining the M4 at either junction 1 (Chiswick roundabout flyover) or junction 2 (Brentford). Why? If I’d known the M4 was closed I could have easily chosen an alternative route.

‘As a result of extreme lateness my travel ticket was cancelled and I had to buy another one. That wasted me just under £200!’