THE day that two Ryanair pilots died in a horror crash on the M62 – and on the same stretch of motorway – was a dedicated police crackdown operation. A car was involved in a collision with two lorries on the westbound carriageway between junctions eight for Burtonwood and seven for Rainhill Stoops at 5.31am on Thursday.
It was tragically confirmed by Cheshire Police that the two men killed in the crash were captain Matt Greenhalgh, aged 28, and senior first officer Jamie Fernandes, aged 24, - a Bolton School old boy - who both worked for Ryanair and were travelling to Liverpool John Lennon Airport in a taxi. Cheshire Police has now confirmed that the day saw Cheshire Police officers join forces with neighbouring constabularies in an operation targeting uninsured drivers. As part of the operation, more than 90 road policing officers conducted the operation across 220 miles of motorway in both directions – including the stretch on which the fatal crash occurred – giving uninsured drivers no place to hide from repercussions.
During Thursday's operation, officers were based at Burtonwood services from 7am, having been among the first to respond to the fatal crash. Several officers due to take part in the operation were quickly redeployed to the scene to manage traffic and support the first responders. On the Cheshire stretch of the motorway, officers stopped a total of 67 vehicles, 43 of which were being driven without insurance.
They also seized nine vehicles, issued 27 .