Hero husband sacrificed himself to save his wife when lorry veered in front of them on motorway, inquest hears

The inquest heard that the heroic husband who was hit by an oncoming truck on the M60 ‘sacrificed himself to save the woman he loved’.

David Lalgee, 64, selflessly swerved his car into the path of the HGV, taking the brunt of the collision and saving the life of his beloved wife Jo.

The vicar of a church in Tameside, Manchester, made a spur-of-the-moment decision after the truck had a flat tire and spun out of control on March 20.

The HGV ‘swayed uncontrollably’ and ‘swerved’ on the motorway near Salford before smashing through the central booking barrier and crashing into Mr Laglee’s electric BMW, the inquest at Bolton Coroner’s Court heard.

The grandfather of nine turned his electric vehicle around to protect his passenger and wife Jo. In doing so he suffered ‘catastrophic and unsurvivable’ injuries and later died in hospital.

In a heartbreaking statement released following the tragedy, his family praised his ‘incredible bravery’.

They said: ‘In his final moments David did what he always did; He put others before himself,’ they said.

‘With incredible courage he protected his wife Jo and positioned himself between her and the lorry passing the central containment area. He took the brunt by sacrificing his life to save the woman he loved.’

Speaking at the inquest, Jo paid tribute to his ‘charismatic, loving and giving husband’, saying he was someone who ‘dedicated his time to others’.

‘His passing was a great loss for many people,’ he said.

The coroner ruled that there was no fault of the driving standards of those involved and that the crash was ‘entirely inevitable’ due to the flat tire.

He said ‘There can be no realistic explanation as to why this happened’.

Coroner Michael Pemberton said: “It is entirely possible that there was something on the road that the tire was exposed to, but this was never found.”

Mr Lalgee’s vehicle collided with a truck after he swerved to save his wife from the brunt of the collision

The inquest heard there was ‘no evidence of any pre-existing mechanical defects’ in the lorry driven from Immingham, near Lincolnshire, to Morecambe by Tracy Carradice.

The heavy vehicle had been serviced the day before the collision and no defects in the tire or wheel were found before the collision.

Detective Sergeant Matthew Waggett, of Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said the crash was the result of a ‘chain of events’ and not Ms Carradice’s fault.

The forensic investigation found that there was “nothing attributable” to the tire blowout (e.g. a bulge in the tire, a nail or a foreign object). As a result, it is unknown why the tire failed.

Ms Carradice, an eight-year experienced truck driver, told the inquest she was driving on a normal route when the accident occurred.

The inquest heard there was a ‘massive explosion’ before the carriage ‘fell violently to the right’.

‘I was on the brakes and struggling to keep the steering wheel straight,’ he said.

Ms Carradice said there was nothing she could have done or should have done differently, adding that she replayed the collision in her mind every day.

Mr Lalgee lived in Mossley, Tameside, with his wife Jo. The couple had three children and three stepchildren

Born in Scunthorpe, Mr Lalgee lived in Mossley, Tameside, with his wife Jo. The married couple had three children and three stepchildren.

The family were planning to move to Blackpool and were driving home after visiting the seaside town at the time of the accident.

Speaking to the Daily Mail following her husband’s death, Jo said he had undoubtedly ‘saved my life’.

He said: ‘It was a miracle I survived the accident, he did everything he could to avoid the truck hitting me.

‘He sacrificed his life to save mine, and for that I will be forever grateful.

‘When we saw the truck heading towards the central reservoir David knew exactly what was going to happen.

‘He said to me, ‘Okay, here we go.’ He maneuvered the car so that it took the full impact of the truck. After impact, we rolled several times.

‘When we stopped all the airbags had gone off but I thought we were okay.

‘But I could see David and he was bleeding from his head. I got out of the car and was fine except for a few broken ribs.

‘But the car was completely crushed. It was a miracle.

‘Doctors did everything they could for David but they couldn’t save him.’

Mr Laglee, a former police officer and also a qualified nurse, was vicar of Church Alive, an evangelical church in Blackpool. His family described him as ‘a pillar of love and support for so many people’.

The medical cause of death was stated as ‘multiple traumatic injuries consistent with a road traffic accident’.

Coroner Michael Pemberton said he was ‘personally affected’ by the tragedy as he had traveled the same route just 20 minutes earlier and heard about the collision later.

After recording the conclusion that Mr Lalgee had died as a result of a road accident, he addressed the family and said: ‘This is an absolutely tragic incident and the loss of David will be felt forever.

‘He was clearly a much-loved father, grandfather and husband who made a huge contribution to society.’