A woman has died after her car left the motorway and landed into a ditch near a service station in Kent.
A stretch of the M2 remains closed after a serious crash near Medway services on the London-bound lane, where a vehicle landed on its roof.
Kent Police said: ‘A black Volkswagen T-Roc is reported to have collided with the central reservation before overturning.
‘The driver, a woman in her 20s from the Faversham area, was pronounced dead at the scene and her next of kin has been informed.
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‘There were no passengers in the car or any other vehicles involved.’
Motorists face a road closure after the incident, which happened shortly before 1pm on Christmas Eve, sparking a huge emergency response.
The motorway remains closed westbound between junction J5 Sittingbourne and J4 Rainham due to a crash investigation led by the police.
The road is likely to remain closed through the afternoon, National Highways warned.
Footage shows frustrated drivers stepping out of their vehicles after traffic was ground to a halt.
Kent Police said: ‘We are currently at the scene of a serious collision on the M2 London-bound near the Medway services. The motorway is closed between Junctions 5 and 4 and will remain so for an extended period of time. Thank you for your patience.’
It said: ‘The collision, reported to National Highways at 12:58pm is a single vehicle collision which has struck the central reservation barrier and has come to rest in an overturned position.
‘Kent Police lead the response to this incident and the initial response this incident was supported by the South East Coast Ambulance Service and Kent Fire & Rescue Service.
‘Due to the seriousness of the incident, Kent Police are carrying out detailed collision investigations at the scene. This process is essential to establish the circumstances of the incident, which means the closure is expected to remain in place throughout the afternoon.’
Christmas Eve is one of the busiest days on UK roads, with 22.7 million journeys expected. The peak of the festive getaways was on Friday, December 19, when around 24.4 million trips were predicted.
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