SWSYcrash - by Sarah Lumley

This shocking Dashcam footage shows the moment a van rolled across three lanes of traffic and onto the opposite side of a motorway - after the driver fell asleep at the wheel.

Barry Reeves, a driver for kitchen and bathroom manufacturer Lark & Larks Ltd., had just started his work day yesterday (Weds), when he saw the grey van come crashing towards him.

Barry, who was driving in the fast lane of the motorway closest to the central reservation barrier, barely had time to slow down enough to switch lanes behind an HGV in front of him, in a bid to avoid the collision.

But the out-of-control van came crashing through the barrier, and spun into the side of the Lark & Larks van, sending the bonnet flying open and bringing both vehicles to a halt.

Thankfully, both drivers made it out alright and unscathed - but when emergency services attended the scene, it transpired that the other driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, having just finished a night shift.

The incident happened at 6.05am on Wednesday on the southbound M40 motorway, between Junctions 9 and 10, close to the Gaydon Interchange just outside Birmingham.

Martin Larkin, 52, Operations Director at Lark & Larks, said: "Thankfully, all is well.

"It was one of our drivers who was on the receiving end of the crash, but he and the other driver both managed to walk away from it.

"Barry was pretty shaken up but he appears to be okay. He took the afternoon off to go to the doctors for a check over.

"He said the other guy walked away from the accident with just a cut on his face and a cut on his hand - which is unbelievable, really, when you look at the footage.

"He was lucky to avoid the HGV driver that was in front of Barry. It could have been a lot worse.

"Barry told us that when the fire brigade and ambulance attended the scene, the driver that caused the crash said he had just come off a night shift, and had fallen asleep at the wheel.

"The ambulance took the other driver away to the hospital for observation, but he seemed to be okay.

"Our van took significant damage to the front, and was left with a big hole in the side panel a couple of meters in length. We're waiting to hear whether that's fixable and how much it will cost.

"But I'm just glad our driver seems to be okay. He's got a day off work today anyway, so we'll check in on him later on."

POSS MFL - COMMENT FROM AMBULANCE

ENDS