M6 driver who killed family driving wrong way down motorway 'was former Top Gun pilot'

Richard Woods, who was killed alongside four other people in a tragic crash on October 15, was reportedly a 'former RAF Tornado pilot' and was said to be 'under a lot of stress'

A driver who killed a family, including two children, in a tragic motorway crash on the M6 was a former Top Gun pilot, according to reports.

Richard Woods, 40, was driving his Skoda on the motorway near Tebay services in Cumbria on October 15 when his car collided with a Toyota. Police believe the man, from Cambridgeshire, was heading the wrong way down the northbound carriageway when he hit the other car head-on.

Mr Woods also died in the crash. The other victims were named as dad Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, his partner Jade McEnroe, 33, and two children Filip, 15, and Dominic, 7. They were all from Glasgow and believed to have been travelling back from Legoland in their car.

An unnamed source told The Sun that Mr Woods was based at RAF Marham in Norfolk, where he was in charge of the F-35B Lightning flight simulator. They said: "There is no way a former RAF Tornado pilot would ever drive the wrong way down a motorway by mistake.

"There are suggestions he had been under a lot of stress and the assumption is he did it deliberately while his mind was unbalanced." Mr Woods was formally named by Cumbria Police as the driver of the Skoda yesterday.

In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, the force said: "Police can confirm the identity of the driver of the Skoda, involved in the road traffic collision on the M6 Northbound past Tebay on Tuesday 15 October. The driver has been formally identified as Richard Woods, aged 40, from Cambridgeshire."

In tribute to the two children who were killed, Filip and Dominic, both of east Glasgow, their mother Kamila said: "We are heartbroken at the passing of our beloved angels – Filip and Dominic. Filip was very intelligent, sensitive and full of love. We will never forget his smile, open arms, and the words ‘tuli, tuli’ (hugs, hugs).

"He was fascinated by computer games but also incredibly good at chess. He loved chemistry and dreamed of studying at the University of Glasgow. Dominic was always smiling, very resolute and sociable. He was extremely caring, always thinking of others first, and the first to help if someone was in trouble.

"Always surrounded by a group of friends of all ages. He loved dinosaurs and Pokemon, but most of all he loved penguins and dreamed of adopting one. Our lives will never be the same again." The only survivor of the crash, Jade's seven-year-old son Arran, suffered injuries and was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle where he remains.

The parents of Ms McEnroe, of Kilmuir Road, Glasgow, also paid tribute. They said: "Our beloved daughter Jade, you are so loved, and we will miss you every day. You are a very much-loved mummy to Arran." Arran's father said: "I would like to thank everyone for their kind messages, to the emergency services and the members of the public that assisted at the scene."