Arrested pair bailed following M61 collision which killed 12-year-old girl

Officers have released two people under investigation following a fatal collision

The collision occurred at around 10.45pm on Saturday, July 6, when a Vauxhall Corsa collided with a Nissan Qashqai around a mile from junction eight.A passenger in the car, 12-year-old Sana Patel from Blackburn, sadly died as a result of the collision.

The occupants of the Vauxhall Corsa fled the scene on foot. A 23-year-old woman from Mirfield in Yorkshire was arrested on suspicion of death by dangerous driving and was quizzed by detectives over the weekend.

A 28-year-old man from Dewsbury was also arrested on suspicion of death by dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. Both have now been released under investigation pending further enquiries.

Det Supt Andy Cribbin, of Lancashire Police: “This was a tragic incident in which 12-year-old Sana Patel lost her life and our thoughts are very much with her family and friends at his unimaginably difficult time."

He added that the force was "very much still trying to establish what happened and are asking anybody who saw the collision or either vehicle in the moments before it happened to get in touch as soon as possible.

“We would also like to speak to anyone who was in the Corsa at the time and would urge them to make contact with us.”

Anyone with information is asked to get in touch on 101, quoting log number 1817 of July 6th.

The M61 was closed in both directions between junctions six and eight while collision investigators attended the scene and reopened at around 9am this morning.