Telford father killed in horror crash after stopping on section of M6 with no hard shoulder
A Telford father died in a crash after stopping his vehicle on a section of motorway where there was no hard shoulder in operation, an inquest heard.
Anthony Marston stopped on the M6, close to the junction with the M54, to check his trailer.
That section of motorway has no permanent hard shoulder, part of a strategy to keep congested traffic running.
The inquest heard that Mr Marston, a family man from Leegomery in Telford, worked as a courier and was driving a Mercedes E300 estate towing a trailer loaded with a Peugeot Partner van at the time.
He stopped to check the trailer and was then hit by a lorry.
The accident, which took place between junctions 10 and 10a between Walsall and the M54, happened on August 21.
The inquest was opened and adjourned at Black Country Coroners Court, where Senior Coroner Zafar Siddique was told a police investigation into Mr Marston's death was ongoing.
Mr Siddique said: "He was driving a Mercedes on the M6 northbound between junction 10 and 10a. He was carrying a trailer with a van.
"All the lanes were running and there was no hard shoulder.
"He stopped and checked the trailer and after about two minutes vehicles passed him, but a HGV collided with the stationary trailer and he was caught between the Mercedes and the trailer. Sadly he died due to the injuries from this."
A post mortem identified his cause of death as multiple severe traumatic injuries.
Mr Siddique said police had been viewing CCTV and the matter has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide if legal action was appropriate.
He added: "Therefore I will be adjourning this until January 20 for police to finalise their investigation."
In a moving tribute released following the accident, Mr Marston's family said: "Tony was a loving father to Laura and Luke and husband to Sue.
"He lived life to the full, he was one of life's original characters who will be deeply missed by all who knew him."
The accident is likely to call into question the use of hard shoulders for traffic.
A Commons committee said earlier this year that plans to convert more hard shoulders into lanes for traffic should be scrapped.
The Transport Select Committee said the "dramatic change" would be dangerous.
But the Department for Transport said "all-lane running" was designed to be as safe as ordinary motorways.
'Smart motorway' schemes only use the hard shoulder at peak times or during periods of congestion, although there are some sections of motorway that have no hard shoulder except for intermittent refuge areas.
The Department for Transport said there was "growing evidence" that the additional lanes were providing "much-needed additional capacity quickly and efficiently on our roads while maintaining or improving safety".
But it said it is "determined that the reviews currently taking place into emergency refuge areas should be completed swiftly and that action on the recommendations will be taken".
