M1 crash driver going 'wrong way'

Four people killed in the crash were members of one family

A man killed with four other people when two cars crashed on the M1 in Bedfordshire was travelling in the wrong direction, an inquest was told.

Mariusz Marcin Adamski, 24, a lorry driver from Leicester, made a U-turn in his VW Passat as he got to roadworks, Bedford Coroner's Court heard.

He then drove north, away from junction 10, along the southbound carriageway.

Near junction 11, at Luton, his car hit a Jaguar at 70mph (113km/h). Four members of the same family were killed.

Mariusz Adamski was driving a Volkswagen Passat northbound on the southbound carriageway Acting Insp Colin Bonner

Mr Adamski, who was living in Leicester, was confirmed dead at the scene on Saturday night.

Jaguar driver Lakhdip Nagra, 27, his sister Navjit Nagra, 28, their mother Inderjit Nagra, 48, and relative Chain Singh, 66, also died.

The Nagras all lived at the same address in Bexleyheath, Kent.

Mr Singh lived in Pur, in Nawanshar, India, and it is believed he was the siblings' uncle.

Mr Adamski, a UK resident for two to three years, leaves a wife and child in Poland.

'Huge impact'

Acting Insp Colin Bonner, of Bedfordshire road police, said: "Preliminary inquiries show that the deceased, Mariusz Adamski, was driving a Volkswagen Passat northbound on the southbound carriageway.

"He travelled towards junction 10 where there are roadworks.

"Prior to those roadworks it appears he made a U-turn and travelled north. Near junction 11 there was a collision with a Jaguar.

"It was a head-on collision, resulting in the deaths of all occupants of both vehicles."

Bedfordshire and Luton Coroner David Morris said the impact would have been "huge".

All five people killed in the collision died from multiple injuries, post-mortem examinations found.

Police are awaiting the results of toxicology tests.

Mr Morris opened and adjourned the inquest to a date to be fixed.