A dad has told of his horror after being trapped in the wreckage of his van for two hours. Michael Radford, 39, 'woke up crushed' in his vehicle which was sandwiched between two heavy goods vehicles following the major crash on the M56 near junction 10 in April.
The father of three said firefighters 'thought he was dead' after the horrific smash, which happened while he queued in standstill traffic after missing his exit on his drive home. Ever since, he has questioned how he made it out alive.
Michael was rescued from the wreckage, captured in dramatic photos, before being airlifted to hospital. He suffered a fractured spine, several broken ribs and an eye injury.
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Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , the water mains engineer said: "I don't remember much about the initial impact, I completely blacked out. Then, I regained consciousness and I woke up crushed. I couldn't see what was going on and I was out of it.
"It took the fire brigade around two hours to cut me out and I was airlifted to hospital. I had become wedged against my steering wheel and the front of the van was completely crushed to the size of a Ford KA. I was stuck.
"When the fire crews turned up, they told me they had thought I was dead with how badly damaged my van was. Even I look back at pictures now and ask myself how I am still alive."
Michael has been off work ever since the crash, on April 11, and says he is scared at the thought of getting behind a wheel again following the 'traumatic' ordeal. Emergency services were called to the incident on the eastbound carriageway of the M56, beside junction 10, at around 5.30 on April 11. Michael was eventually cut from the wreckage and airlifted to Aintree Hospital.
After the impact, Michael, originally from St Helens, says he 'blacked out' for a short moment. However, he will never forget the agonising hours he spent trapped in his van, praying he would make it out as fire crews attempted to desperately cut him from the wreckage.
"I should've come off at Junction 10 to go home, but I missed the turning. The board was flashing 50 miles per hour because they had closed off the motorway further down and there was traffic, so I began slowing down," he added.
"I am still recovering now. It has been a nightmare. I am having a lot of physiotherapy and still go to see spinal specialist. It was traumatic.
"I drive for a living and am on the motorway pretty much 24/7. I see and hear about crashes all the time but you never think something like this is going to happen to you.
"I have only been a passenger in a car since and still haven't driven yet. I don't know how I am going to feel when I have to go back to work and drive on the motorway again.
"This wouldn't have happened to me if I hadn't missed my turning and left at the right junction, but it could've been someone else."
Cheshire Police have said that a 39-year-old man from Bury had been arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was later released under investigation with enquiries into the incident still ongoing.
At the time, a spokesperson for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said that five fire engines from Winsford, Penketh, Warrington, Runcorn and Lymm attended along with the Major Rescue Unit from Winsford. A statement said: "Firefighters were called to a road traffic collision on the M56 involving two heavy goods vehicles and one van.
"The crews removed one person who was trapped in one of the vehicles and handed them to the care of paramedics. Lane one and two were closed while the incident was being dealt with and an Air Ambulance doctor also attended to deal with the casualty."
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