M1 smart motorway death: Coroner raises concern after Zahid Ahmed death

The crash happened near junction 11A of the M1 in Bedfordshire

A coroner has raised fresh concerns over smart motorways after a teenager died when the broken-down vehicle he was in was hit from behind by a lorry.

Zahid Ahmed, 19, died in December 2019 on a section of the M1 in Bedfordshire with no hard shoulder.

Assistant coroner Tom Stoate said it was "not clear where the vehicle could have pulled to a halt in a safe place".

Highways England said it was continuing to deliver on the actions from a smart motorway "stocktake".

It comes shortly after MPs launched an investigation into smart motorways, after a coroner in South Yorkshire raised concerns.

Mr Ahmed was a rear-seat passenger in a Kia Sedona with five other occupants when, on the M1 southbound at junction 11a near Dunstable, it suffered a mechanical problem and pulled into an emergency refuge area.

In a Prevention of Future Deaths report, Mr Stoate said the vehicle remained stationary for about 12 seconds before re-entering the carriageway.

"Shortly after, its hazard lights were illuminated. The Kia then stopped in lane one... a section operating as a running lane with no hard shoulder," said Mr Stoate.

Three other vehicles were able to avoid the Kia, but a lorry from Poland driven by Wojciech Bukowski, crashed into it, killing Mr Ahmed and seriously injuring four others.

Wojciech Bukowski did not apply his brakes into he hit the back of the stationary vehicle

Bukowski was later jailed having admitted causing death by dangerous driving.

A police officer who gave evidence at the inquest said: "The absence of a hard shoulder contributed to the collision.

"Had [Mr Ahmed's] vehicle been able to stop in a location other that a live lane, the offending HGV would not have driven into the back of it."

In March 2020 the government published a stocktake which found "that in most ways, smart motorways are as safe as, or safer than, conventional motorways, but not in every way".

That stocktake included an "action plan", which named the M1 between junctions 10 and 13, where the crash occurred, as a specific area of concern.

A Highways England spokesman added: "Our deepest sympathies are with the family of Mr Ahmed and we will respond to the coroner's report.

"We are continuing to deliver on the actions set out in the government's smart motorway evidence stocktake to further raise the bar on smart motorway safety."