A young man has died in a devastating incident on the M5 motorway after leaving an ambulance that was taking him to hospital.
Details of the M5 Motorway Incident
Police were alerted by the ambulance service late last night, 1 December 2025. The call reported that a patient had exited a stationary ambulance on the northbound carriageway. The vehicle had stopped between junction 21 for Weston-super-Mare and junction 20 for Clevedon to provide further treatment while en route to a hospital.
Shortly after this alert, it was confirmed that the 18-year-old male was on the live motorway. An on-duty police officer rushed to the scene in an attempt to bring the man to safety and mitigate the risk to him and other road users. Tragically, before this could be achieved, the man was involved in a collision with a car travelling in the southbound direction.
Emergency Response and Investigation Launched
Despite the immediate efforts of emergency services personnel at the scene, the young man was pronounced dead. His family has been informed and are being supported by a specially trained police liaison officer.
Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall of the police force expressed the profound impact of the event. "Our thoughts are with the man's family at such a devastating time. We will support them in any way we can," she stated. She also acknowledged the significant effect on the responding officers and ambulance crews, who are "understandably incredibly upset."
In line with procedure, a mandatory referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) by the force's Professional Standards Department. The IOPC has already begun an independent investigation into the full circumstances, with which the police have pledged their full cooperation.
Road Closure and Ongoing Support
The M5 was closed in both directions overnight to allow emergency services to deal with the incident and for initial enquiries to be conducted at the scene. The motorway reopened this morning.
ACC Hall confirmed that welfare support is being arranged not only for police staff and ambulance crews, but also for members of the public who were directly involved in or witnessed the traumatic incident.
