Arrest after fatal crash on M25
- Published
A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a collision on the M25 in Essex.
The dead woman was a passenger in one of four vehicles involved in the collision at 0540 BST between Southend, junction 29, and Thurrock, junction 30.
Three people were injured and hundreds of vehicles faced long tailbacks while emergency services attended the scene.
The arrested man, a van driver from Basildon, was detained after being treated in hospital.
The woman who died was a passenger in a Renault Scenic. The car's driver was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Motorway reopened
Another passenger in the Scenic suffered less serious injuries, along with the driver of a Jaguar.
Bottled water was taken to the scene for drivers stuck in the tailbacks.
The motorway was fully closed until about 1145 BST when one lane was reopened. All lanes were reopened by 1415 BST.
Police appealed for anyone with information about the collision to contact officers.
Ch Insp Richard Phillibrown said: "I would like to thank those people who despite being delayed, for hours in some cases, responded with great resilience, understanding and patience whilst the emergency services worked at the scene. "