M5 coach crash: Tribute paid to lorry driver

Liaquat Ali and William Mapstone Liaquat Ali and William Mapstone

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The family of a lorry driver killed in a crash with a coach on the M5 has said he died doing "the job he so very much loved".

The 65-year-old has been named by West Midlands Police as William Mapstone from Wells in Somerset.

The coach passenger killed in the crash has been named as Liaquat Ali, 35, from Smethwick.

The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday when a lorry collided with a single decker bus.

Mr Ali's family said: "Liaquat was the loving husband of Fozia Shaheen and was the father of two sons and a daughter - Shafqat Ali, aged nine, Mohammed Owais Ali, aged two and Kashish Eman aged six.

"He will be dearly missed by his family and friends and also leaves behind three brothers."

A 28-year-old man from Smethwick who was also a passenger on the bus remains in a critical condition in hospital.

The crash scene The crash involved a lorry and a single decker coach

The driver of the bus, a 49-year-old Birmingham man, remains on bail in connection with the incident.

Police said no-one has been charged with any offences at this stage.

An investigation into the circumstances which led to the collision is "likely to take some time", a spokesman said.

Insp Mark Watkins, from the Collision Investigation Unit, said: "Inquiries centre on the weather conditions at the time of the collision and how the bus came to be stationary in the carriageway."

West Midlands Police said they want to speak to anyone who saw the bus travelling along the M5 prior to the collision.

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