Glasgow family unlawfully killed in wrong-way M6 Cumbria crash | UK News

Two children, their father and his partner were unlawfully killed when they crashed head-on with a car being driven the wrong way on a motorway by a suicidal man, a coroner has ruled.

Jade McEnroe, 33, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, and his sons Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, all from Glasgow, died on 15 October on the M6 near Tebay in Cumbria.

The inquest heard Filip and Ms McEnroe were still alive when the Toyota they were travelling in caught fire, while the other two occupants died in the impact. Richard Woods, who deliberately drove his Skoda into them, also died at the scene.

A motorist heroically pulled Ms McEnroe’s seven-year-old son Arran from the car – the only survivor of the crash.

An inquest at Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard Mr Rossa, Ms McEnroe and their respective children were returning from a trip to Legoland in Windsor during the school holidays.

Several witness statements read out in court said Mr Woods, an ex-RAF pilot, had been driving erratically along the M6 northbound.

He was seen to suddenly break in front of wagons and frequently change lanes.

It lead to other motorists alerting the police, with one witness saying it was “inevitable something was going to happen”.

He then pulled on to the hard shoulder, made a U-turn and drove the wrong way up the third lane for 1.1 mile (1.7km) before crashing into the Toyota, according to evidence from Det Sgt Deborah Story of Cumbria Police.

Last week Coroner Margaret Taylor concluded Mr Woods’ act was deliberate and he had intended to take his own life.

But she told the inquest on Thursday that his intent was not to kill others.

Det Sgt Story evidence from the collision investigation team showed Mr Rossa, the driver of the Toyota, tried to break and avoid the Skoda however he did not have time.

Mr Woods made no attempt to take evasive action and his speedometer was found frozen at 65mph, though he could have been going faster, she said.

The officer confirmed a prosecution for manslaughter would have been brought had Mr Woods survived.

A pathologist found Mr Rossa had died of multiple injuries, including to his chest.

His son Dominic suffered severe skull injuries and his cause of death was trauma.

Ms Taylor said soot present in Ms McEnroe’s lungs showed she had died after the car had caught fire and the cause of death was smoke inhalation, burns and trauma.

Filip died of smoke inhalation, trauma and possible burns.

The inquest heard the only survivor of the crash was Ms McEnroe’s son Arran.

He was pulled out of the burning car by Kevin Walsh who was driving to Scotland with two colleagues.

His van was behind the Toyota and dashcam footage showed the Toyota flipping in the air and landing on its side, while the Skoda glided towards the side of the road.

A witness statement from Mr Walsh said there was “a lot of debris” on the road, which caused his tyre to puncture.

He pulled on to the hard shoulder and ran towards screams coming from the Toyota.

He used a jack to smash the back window and saw Arran, but struggled to grab him due to the thick smoke.

He eventually managed to pull him out by his arms and take him to safety.

An off-duty doctor stopped to help and Arran was airlifted the to hospital in Newcastle.

Mr Walsh said: “We spoke about football, what school he went to, I was trying to keep him awake.

“It was scary stuff, I’ve not coped well with what I saw.

“I saved a life that day, and I hope never to witness anything like that ever again.”

The families of the victims paid tribute to them at the five-hour long hearing.

Ms McEnroe’s parents said she doted on Arran.

“She was a brilliant mother, she adored him and they were never in when the weather was good.”

Cammila Rossa, Mr Rossa’s ex-wife and mum of Filip and Dominic, said the couple also had an older child, Jacob.

The family had moved from Poland to Glasgow where Filip and Dominic were born.

Mr Rossa’s last job was for Wagamama and he had been in a relationship with Ms McEnroe for about two and a half years.

Filip attended Lochend Community High School and had wanted to study chemistry at university.

Ms Rossa said he was great at chess and loved spending time with his dog Daisy.

Dominic, who went to Oakwood primary school, loved dinosaurs and dreamed of adopting a penguin one day.

Ms Rossa said: “He was clever and full of energy and had lots of friends.

“He was a caring child, who always thought of others first.”