Man witnesses death of wife and her two children in rear-view mirror as car collides with M&S lorry

The family was only holiday in Devon driving in separate cars when the collision happened

The vehicle collided with a Marks and Spencers lorry on the A361 near Barnstaple (Google Maps)

A stepfather watched in his rear-view mirror as his wife and two children died in a crash with a Marks and Spencer lorry while the family was driving in separate cars on a holiday in Devon.

His 43-year-old wife had been driving with her 12-year-old twins in a vehicle behind their stepfather, when their car collided with a Marks and Spencer lorry on the A361 near Barnstaple, Devon and Cornwall Police said in a press release.

The woman’s husband is understood to have seen the crash in his rear-view mirror as he drove ahead with his wife’s 14-year-old son.

The mother was pronounced dead at the scene, while her daughter was rushed to North Devon District Hospital, but pronounced dead on arrival.

Her twin brother was taken to hospital via air ambulance, but died shortly afterwards.

Police say the family were on a trip from the Milton Keynes area when the crash happened.

Emergency services were called at around 8.25am on Monday to the North Devon Link Road, near Lankey Junction, which was shut down for nine hours while officers carried out their investigation.

“It would seem that a car travelling towards Barnstaple, for unknown reasons at the moment, has crossed the centre white line and hit an oncoming truck,” Inspector Richard McLellan told the BBC.

“Unfortunately, the family were travelling in two separate cars but travelling together along this road, so dad was there at the scene as well.”

An M&S spokesperson The Independent: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the family and friends of the individuals involved.”

Police ask anyone with information on the incident to contact them by email at 101@dc.police.uk or call 101 quoting 0125 of 31 July.