Wigan Road, Bolton crash ‘tragic reminder’ on road safey

Three teenagers and a man in his 50s died after a crash between two cars on Wigan Road in the early hours of Sunday, with five more people taken to hospital.

Emergency services were on the scene on Sunday, and speaking before a packed open-air press conference in Wigan Road, Chief Inspector Helen McCormick spoke of the local devastation.

She said: “It is with great sadness that I can confirm, in the early hours of this morning, four people have tragically died in a collision here on Wigan Road.

“They are believed to be three teenagers, aged 18 and 19, and a taxi driver, aged in his 50s.

“Formal identification is ongoing at this time and of course, it is pivotal that we get this right.

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“The families of those that we believe have been fatally injured in this incident have been informed and have specialist family liaison officers supporting them at this current time.

“Five other people have been taken to hospital, where they are currently being treated.

“This was a devastating incident for all those involved, none more so than the families of those deceased.

(Left to right) Cllrs Abdul Aziz Atcha, Ayyub Patel, Akhtar Zaman, Rabiya Jiva and Sajid Ali (Image: Phil Taylor)

“This was a particularly challenging scene for colleagues in the emergency services, and I want to thank first responders from our Bolton district and Roads Policing Unit at GMP, as well as the Fire Service and Ambulance service, for all their hard work through the night and into today.

“This is a tragic reminder of the importance of safety on our roads across Greater Manchester, and here in Bolton, where plenty of work has been done and continues, to try and ensure our roads are safe for all.

Police at the scene on Wigan Road (Image: Phil Taylor)

“We have massively reduced the number of serious and fatal collisions in Bolton and significantly increased our proactivity, but we’ve all got much more to do.

“One incident is one too many and will do nothing to bring back the four lives lost here today.”

Chief Inspector McCormick closed by saying that her thoughts were with all those affected by the crash.

Emergency services clearing the scene (Image: Phil Taylor)

Rumworth ward Councillors Ayyub Patel and Abdul Aziz Atchta attended along with council deputy leader Cllr Akhtar Zaman and strong communities cabinet member Cllr Rabiya Jiva.

In a joint statement, the Rumworth councillors said: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with all those affected and their families.

“This is a tragedy for this community, in just one day more people were killed on the roads than in the whole of Bolton over last year.

“It’s at times like this that we need to remember the importance of road safety and that we stand together as a community.

“We would also encourage anyone who may have any information or who may have seen anything to please cooperate with the police.”