A MAN was killed instantly in an horrific accident as he sprinted across the M62 motorway after his car ran out of petrol.

Robert Henry Daniel King, aged 36, ran into the path of a car after he had crossed four lanes of the M62 at Worsley early yesterday.

Police believe Mr King of Plantation Avenue, Walkden, was either trying to reach an emergency phone on the opposite carriageway or was attempting to cross the motorway so he could walk to a nearby petrol station.

His Austin Mini car was discovered out of petrol on the hard shoulder. An emergency phone was only 100 yards from his broken down car on the same carriageway.

A police spokesman said the accident happened at 7.45am yesterday after Mr King's car had spluttered to a stop on the hard shoulder of the eastbound carriageway prior to junction 12

He is believed to have crossed the three lanes of the eastbound carriageway before climbing over the crash barrier between the two sections of motorway. He then attempted to cross the westbound carriageway but was involved in an accident with an Honda Accord car.

The 33-year-old driver of the car involved was badly shaken but was otherwise not injured. The man, from Whalley Range, was taken to hospital but later went home.

The accident has prompted police warnings to drivers and pedestrians not to crossed the region's motorways.

A police spokesman said: "Motorways are out of bounds to any member of the public who is on foot. It is virtually impossible for any pedestrian to estimate the speed of oncoming cars."

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