Police searching for missing Chelmsley Wood driver following M6 crash find body

Police searching an area off the M6 for the driver of a car which crashed through a barrier have found the body of a man.

The car is believed to have crashed on the southbound carriageway between junctions 4A and 5 near Coleshill, on 15th January.

The vehicle was abandoned and enquiries revealed that the driver, Zahid Mirza, aged 40, from Chelmsley Wood, had not been seen by his family since that date.

Following two days of intensive searching by specialist search officers, a body was discovered in an inaccessible area of waste ground adjacent to the motorway.

Temporary Detective Superintendent Tom Chisholm, from Force CID, said: “At the time of the collision in January, a search was made of the immediate area, but there was no trace of the driver.

“Following enquiries, we discovered that Mr Mirza’s family have had no contact with him since then, so specialist officers have been in the area over the past two days carrying out searches.

Yesterday evening (Sunday 5th February), the search team discovered the body of a man in an inaccessible area of waste ground. The body has not been formally identified but family liaison officers have notified Mr Mirza’s family and are supporting them.

“We remain keen to speak to anyone who believes they may have information about the collision and ask they call us on 101.”

A post mortem will take place in due course to establish the cause of death.

The force’s professional standards department will refer the matter to the IPCC.

Read more: https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/latest-news/news.aspx?id=5382