M25 Closed After Pedestrian Hit, Causing Major Traffic Delays
A serious crash near Hornchurch has led to significant tailbacks on the M25, with emergency services on the scene and delays expected.
Hornchurch, Essex, M25, Traffic, Accident, Pedestrian
Hornchurch: There’s a real mess on the M25 right now. A serious crash happened around midday, and it involved a pedestrian and a car. Because of this, the motorway is partially closed.
Both sides of the motorway were shut down between Junction 29 for Hornchurch and Junction 28 for Brentwood while emergency services rushed to help. The clockwise side opened back up around 3 PM, but the anticlockwise side is still closed, and no one knows when it’ll reopen.
As of 5 PM, there were about 12 miles of traffic jams and delays of up to three hours on the anticlockwise side. National Highways mentioned that cars trying to join the queue are being turned around, and there’s a diversion set up.
Even the clockwise side is feeling the pinch, with delays of about an hour and six miles of congestion after Junction 28. The Met Police are looking into the crash, and we’ve reached out to them for more info.
One driver shared on X, “M25 is knackered near Brentwood, first time I’ve been turned around on a motorway before.” Another chimed in, “Friday the 13th has arrived early on the M25 in Essex at the moment.” It’s clear that traffic is at a standstill for those heading north from Junction 3.
On top of that, there was a separate lorry fire that closed the M26 eastbound earlier in the day, but that stretch reopened around 3 PM. With the Christmas holidays coming up, drivers are being warned to expect long queues due to record traffic levels.
The AA predicts that Friday, December 20, will be the busiest day on the roads, with around 23.7 million drivers planning to hit the road. Areas like the M25 near Heathrow and the M4/M5 interchange near Bristol are expected to be particularly congested.