Police officers commended after dealing with devastating collision where two children died on M1 near Northampton

Police officers who dealt with a devastating collision on the M1 near Northampton where two children tragically died have been commended.

PC Matt Diduca and PC Colin Riley were on night duty on August 9 last year, when they attended a fatal collision involving a car and a lorry on the M1 motorway between junction 14 and 15.

Due to the tailback the incident had caused, PC Riley made his way to the scene by foot.

When he arrived he was faced with two children that had suffered serious injuries which later proved to be fatal.

PC Diduca took control of the distraught mother, who had been driving the car, and began to complete the scene assessment under incredible duress and stress, before he was then joined by PC Riley.

As there were difficulties in getting to the incident both officers had to deal with the complex motorway scene management for around 30 minutes until support arrived.

Now, just over a year on, Thames Valley Police Chief Constable John Campbell has honoured two officers for their role and actions in connection with a fatal road traffic collision at his latest awards ceremony.

Sergeant Daniel Collett, of the Joint Roads Policing Unit, based at Milton Keynes police station, nominated the pair for the award and said: “This was an extremely upsetting and emotionally charged collision for all involved.

“The actions of both PC Diduca and PC Riley in dealing with the initial scene and grief stricken mother were of the highest standard.”

Mother of the children, Mary McCann, aged 35, of Bamford Avenue, Derby, was sentenced to four years and one month in prison and banned from driving for seven years and two weeks for two counts of causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink.

Four-year-old Lily and her big brother Smaller, 10, were not wearing seatbelts when the speeding Vauxhall Astra clipped the rear of a Scania HGV, causing catastrophic damage.

Lily was thrown from the wreckage while Smaller was found to be in cardiac arrest on the back seat.

Firefighters performed CPR, but tragically the two children died at the scene having suffered traumatic head injuries.