AN AA man returning to base found himself at the centre of a dramatic rescue operation when he came across the scene of an horrific motorway death crash on Wednesday morning.

Recovery specialist John Daniel was flagged down by motorists as he drove to the Risley AA base on the M62, and came across a badly smashed car which had caught fire.

He heard cries coming from inside the car and rushed back to his truck to fetch fire extinguishers, by which time the police had arrived.

John then joined with one of the officers to battle the flames while a second policeman pulled a girl from the now blazing car.

John, aged 40, of Liverpool, said: "We are trained to deal with any kind of emergency, but this was the worst crash I have ever seen. I think when you are confronted by a scene like that your brain switches into a different mode and you just cope."

The car, a blue Honda Civic, was the only car involved in the crash, which happened at 2.20am. Police are unsure how it happened, but it appears to have left the carriageway of the M62 at Croft near to where the motorway crosses the M6 and hurtled down the embankment, where it overturned and burst into flames.

There were three people in the stricken car. A man in the rear seat was thrown clear on impact but later died of his injuries. Two girls in the front suffered serious injuries but after treatment at Warrington Hospital their condition was described as "serious but not life threatening".

John said: "The car was a mess. I had originally thought it was on its roof but by the time the fire brigade had finished extinguishing the flames I saw it was upright. As it left the motorway, it appeared to have sliced a tree in half.

"All I did was make sure that people moved their cars away from the fire and stood well back. We tried to put the fire out with the extinguishers, but we were fighting a losing battle. But I would like to meet the police officer who pulled the girl out of the car and shake him by the hand."

Police confirmed that the dead man was a 25-year-old from Manchester. The driver, a 25-year-old woman from Leeds, was rescued from the car before John arrived. The girl who was rescued was aged 18 and also from Leeds.

Motorway police are appealing for witnesses to the crash to contact them on 01244 350000.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.