A DARWEN man died and another was seriously injured in a ‘high-speed’ horror crash which saw their car burst into flames.

Jason Kenealy, 32, died from his injuries, while Shaun Corran, 22, was last night in hospital with serious, but not life-threatening brain injuries.

The driver, a 24-year-old man from Darwen, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

However, he remained in hospital last night being treated for a broken ankle.

Their Vauxhall Corsa collided with a Toyota Corolla Verso carrying a family of five.

The mum, 41, was last night critically ill in hospital with deep cuts to her legs, although her condition had improved to be taken off sedation.

The dad, 42, was being treated for injuries to his chest and neck, while their six-year-old son was also in hospital for a bruised lung.

According to police, their other children, a boy, seven, and girl, 10, had been discharged with minor injuries to the care of their grandparents.

The crash happened in Chorley Old Road, Bolton, outside Bob’s Smithy Inn at 8.50pm on Saturday night.

After the impact, the Corsa burst into flames.

Regulars and staff at the pub rushed to the aid of people in both cars.

They pulled all eight people from the wreckage.

As the flames broke out, one man was seen to pull one of the doors open before dragging one of the men away.

A fire extinguisher from the pub was used to try to put out the blaze.

Greater Manchester Police’s forensic collision reconstruction unit was trying to piece together how the accident had happened on the road, which has a 60mph limit.

Officers are investigating whether one of the cars was travelling from Horwich towards Bolton, while another was turning out from the junction onto Chorley Old Road.

Both cars were badly damaged at the front and came to rest together on the pavement opposite the pub.

One woman who was in the pub, and was one of the first on the scene, said: “We heard the bang and went outside.

“Everyone was still in their cars.

“I picked up one of the children and handed him to someone else.

“Then the dad, who was driving, fell out of the car.

“We took him across the road away from the other car because it was on fire and we didn’t know if it was going to explode.

“Someone pulled the door off the red car and got the driver out.

“Others pulled the two passengers out.”

Another regular added: “It’s a terrible junction. I’ve never seen an accident this bad but there’s always bumps there.”

Watch commander Rich Mortimer, of Bolton Central Fire Station, described it as a ‘high-speed crash’.

He said all three children were wearing seatbelts and sat in the correct sized booster seats which had prevented them being seriously injured.

Mr Mortimer said: “When we arrived there were five adults strewn within a 50 square metre area.

They had apparently been pulled from the vehicles by people from the pub.”

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