A CORONER has expressed concerns over the lack of lighting on the M6, following an inquest into a driver who died in a multi-vehicle crash.

Costel Daniel Stancu was two-and-a-half times the drink drive limit when he crashed into the back of a van early on Friday, March 29 last year, heading southbound between junction 19 for Knutsford and 18 for Middlewich – a section of smart motorway without a permanent hard shoulder.

A lorry also took damage in the initial collision which saw Mr Stancu’s car overturn, and the three vehicles came to a stop spread across lanes one and four of the ‘pitch black’ carriageway.

Some four minutes later, after a number of near misses, there were further crashes when two lorries and a van travelling south arrived at the stationary vehicles involved in the first collision.

Coroner Peter Sigee, who oversaw the inquest into Mr Stancu’s death, said the crash scene ‘was not visible to other road users until [their] headlights illuminated it’.

The inquest heard that, tragically, 37-year-old Mr Stancu’s driving had been impaired by alcohol and he had been speeding and driving carelessly before the initial crash.

He had been driving from Liverpool to his home in London.

The M6 was closed for much of Friday morning and Mr Stancu was rushed to intensive care at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, but sadly died on April 3.

Mr Sigee said: “The lack of lighting on this section of the motorway was a contributory factor to the second series of collisions.

“The evidence at inquest was that this section of the motorway remains unlit at night and I am concerned that this creates an ongoing risk to life.

“While I found that none of the collisions were caused by the conversion of this section of the motorway to a ‘smart motorway’ I am concerned that this change in layout may have increased the risks posed to users of the motorway including the risk arising from the lack of lighting.”

His note to Highways England added that ‘action should be taken to prevent future deaths’, and a response to the coroner's office is due early this month.

A Highways England spokesman said: “Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this incident.

"Safety is Highways England's top priority, and any death on our roads is one too many.

"We are carefully considering the coroner's report and will provide a response to the coroner within the next few days.”